'It's great to be here': Cutch at home in Pirate City

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Andrew McCutchen modeled many different colors, tones and tinges over the past five years. The vibrant orange and midnight black in San Francisco. The navy blue pinstripes in New York. The lava red and soothing blue in Philadelphia. The sunglow yellow and royal blue in Milwaukee.

Those colors never felt quite right. None of those color combinations could quite match the comfort provided by black and gold. Over the last two days, McCutchen, once again, sported the colors that felt quite right.

“I didn’t feel as home anywhere else,” McCutchen said. “The only place I was at for very long was in Philly, and even that felt pretty short. It was three years. I had the [left knee] ACL injury halfway through the [2019] season, then we had the 60-game season the next year in '20, then I finally played a full season in 2021. It didn’t feel like I was really there very long. So, yeah, it’s great to be here. It’s great to be back.”

McCutchen doesn’t have many specific memories of his first big league Spring Training, but he does remember embracing the role of the wide-eyed kid with the Majors on his mind and everything to prove.

“I remember warming up and I was skipping and jumping as high as I possibly could,” McCutchen said. “Then, we were doing a little running and I was trying to be first. I remember some guys had smirks on their faces wondering what I was trying to prove. It turned out I didn’t have to prove anything.

“Most guys were going through the motions trying to get ready for the season and I was trying to make the team. But I was 19.”

McCutchen, 36 years old and on the cusp of his 15th Major League season, won’t be doing any skipping or all-out sprinting any time soon. He boasted that he’s got veteran status and joked that he can afford to show up for stretches a half-hour before they begin. But McCutchen also understands his responsibility in camp as one of the Pirates’ elder statesmen.

“I’m able to be that voice to let them know that I know what it feels like to lose, but I also know what it feels like to win,” McCutchen said. “I think there’s a lot I can do, a lot that I can bring. I’m excited for it because I do think this is a ballclub that shouldn’t lose 100 games. I’ve said that before. They shouldn’t lose 100 games. This is a good ballclub. I think it’s a matter of letting guys know that, having that belief that they can win. I’m looking forward to it.”

Several of McCutchen’s new teammates have already expressed their excitement.

Bryan Reynolds, part of the trade package that the Pirates acquired when they dealt McCutchen to the Giants, called the homecoming a “full circle” moment. Ke’Bryan Hayes, who played catch with McCutchen the last two days, and Oneil Cruz both shared their excitement as well. Cruz may have even had a tiny part in the recruitment process, sharing that he asked McCutchen when he was going to return to the Bucs last season during a game.

“I think some of our guys are excited to see him,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We do have a young group. ... If you spend any time around LECOM [Park] or Pirate City or PNC, there are a lot of pictures of Cutch up from previously when he was here, when the guy wins an MVP.”