PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was against the team he hit his most memorable home run against. Against a team that used to employ him. Home run number 300 for Andrew McCutchen was special for a bigger picture reason as Cutch gets it done at Philadelphia on Sunday.
It was a home run in the ninth inning of a 9-2 win that bounced off the hands of some Phillies fans and into those of a father and son who root for the Pirates.
What made McCutchen really think after the homer, was who caught it and what they did. The 37-year-old told Dan Zangrilli on the 93.7 The Fan Pirates Post Game Show, he was able to get the ball back with no strings attached.
“All he wanted to do was deliver the ball to me,” McCutchen said to Zangrilli. “It’s about as genuine as it gets.”
McCutchen told 93.7 The Fan it was a special moment for him. In an age where people hold milestone baseballs for ransom, this six-or-seven-year-old child just wanted to present the ball and meet the Pirates all-time great.
“We know how it is sometimes, people get baseballs, they ask for the moon,” McCutchen said on the 93.7 The Fan Pirates postgame show. “They want everything, and rightfully so, but when you have people like that, that are genuine and just want to get to meet you. It makes you think about things.”
“It makes you think about the bigger picture and how life works sometimes. I got to have that moment with them and it was special for me.”
McCutchen told Zangrilli he wasn’t sure if his family saw the homer or not. He said he talked to them before dialing into 93.7 The Fan and they were excited. He just didn’t think they were able to watch it as all five of them, his wife and four kids, are dealing with varying degrees of illness.
It’s actually been occupying his mind as he’s been on the road for work.
“I’ve been just trying to check in and make sure they are ok, make sure my wife is ok,” McCutchen told Zangrilli. “Honestly not even thinking about baseball, trying to link in with my family. They are home trying to heal up.”
Only hitting .194 to start the season, as he dealt with an illness himself, he joked as to why they would want to watch.
“Quite frankly, the season has started slow for me,” McCutchen said on 93.7 The Fan. “I wouldn’t expect her to be watching.”
While 300 is a big number, the one that first came to mind when asked about special home runs was his first walk-off in 2009 off Brad Lidge and the Phillies. As he reached home plate, he jumped in the air like Michael Jordan. He said there is a picture of it in Kevin Roach’s video room at PNC Park.
Thank you
It wasn’t done at home, but McCutchen didn’t forget the Pirates fans who couldn’t make it to Philly.
“I am forever grateful to the fan base in Pittsburgh and what they’ve given me over the years,” McCutchen said on the 93.7 The Fan Pirates Post Game Show. “It’s awesome that I was able to get to 300 in a Pirates uniform. Would I have wanted it a lot earlier? Of course. That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.”
“It’s nice to be able to do it. Get it done. I wish I would have been able to get it done in Pittsburgh.”
If not Pittsburgh, how about doing it at a rival city with a pair of Pirates fans representing the city about as well as you could hope.