Cutch joins elite 200-HR, 200-steal club

PITTSBURGH -- Andrew McCutchen came home and made a little baseball history.

McCutchen, the former Pirates great and year-round Pittsburgher, notched career stolen base No. 200 in the Brewers’ 12-8 win over his former team on Tuesday to join Mike Trout as the only active players with 200 career home runs and 200 steals.

It’s a relatively exclusive group of players who possess both power and speed. McCutchen is the 51st player to reach both milestones, a list topped by a former Pirate (Barry Bonds finished with 762 home runs and 514 steals) and that includes nine others who played for the Brewers, including Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor.

McCutchen had been eyeing the milestone for some time, and the schedule gave him a chance to reach it in front of some of the fans who cheered his prime years at the beginning of his career.

“I was like, ‘We have three games here, and I gotta get it.’” McCutchen said. “I thought I had it the first time.”

McCutchen walked in the fourth inning and tried stealing second but was thrown out by Pirates catcher Roberto Pérez on a close play. When he singled in the ninth, it gave McCutchen another chance. This time, he made it safely.

When his career began, did a milestone like 200 steals seem within reach?

“I mean, honestly, when my career started I thought I was getting 200 pretty easily,” he said. “That was always my thought process. I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll get there.’ And then the game changed.

“When I came up from the Minor Leagues, it was, ‘Hey, if you get on base, go.’ I put a little bit of weight on, and they were like, ‘OK, we’re going to hit you third,’ and it kind of changed. It changed over time, and I didn’t steal as many bases as I once [stole]. That’s good to be able to have that milestone and be in good company with that guy Mike Trout over there. That’s pretty cool.”

As a bonus, he did it in the stadium he called home for nine seasons.

“To have the nostalgia of walking out there even though it’s on the opposing side -- you’re still going to feel things that you don’t feel unless you were here,” McCutchen said on Tuesday afternoon. “It’s always good to be able to come back and be around the ballpark, experience it, see the fans, interact with the fans and be home.”

McCutchen’s wife, Maria, hails from Dubois, Pa., north of Pittsburgh, and they made the decision prior to getting married that they would make the Pittsburgh area their permanent home, no matter where his baseball career took the family. They now have three kids, ranging in age from six months to four years old, who eagerly awoke dad on Tuesday morning after he arrived late the night before.

If the Brewers and McCutchen were seeking a breakout game, they got it. Willy Adames matched the franchise record with seven RBIs and tallied four of Milwaukee’s 14 hits on a night the team set season highs for runs and hits.

“I’m not too worried about it,” McCutchen said of the team’s slow start prior to Tuesday. “Just like guys shouldn’t be worried about the pitching. It’s going to make its way around, and we’ll be fine. You’ve got to give it some time. You’ve got the elements. You’ve got a shortened spring. People have to take that into account. You’re not putting in the amount of time you normally do. All those things, man. And it’s April, too.”