'I'm going to reach all of them:' Pirates star Andrew McCutchen eyes milestone moments

For all the fanfare that surrounded his return to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Andrew McCutchen passed a major milestone in his baseball career this week with barely a written word or whisper of congratulations.

If not for a daily milestone tracker kept by team historian Jim Trdinich as the five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger and 2013 NL MVP approaches his 2,000th career hit, 400th double and 300th home run, McCutchen’s 1,000th walk would have gone largely unnoticed.

It came Sunday at PNC Park, buried in the eighth inning of a 10-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. After missing two games with a left ankle sprain, McCutchen pinch-hit for Rodolfo Castro and drew a four-pitch walk against reliever Yimi Garcia to reach the mark.

“Getting 1,000 walks is cool, man,” McCutchen, 36, said. “It’s not something people celebrate. They don’t put it up on the scoreboard when it happens. But, for me, it just shows my patience.”

McCutchen laughed, considering his criticism of the umpire crew’s inconsistency calling the strike zone when the Pirates were swept by the Tampa Bay Rays last week. McCutchen, who has 27 strikeouts and 20 walks this season, went down swinging four times and looking at a called strike once and drew two walks in that three-game series.

“With the way strike zone is nowadays, it’s a lot harder to get walks, so I hold my head pretty high when I do something like that,” McCutchen said. “It’s something I always took pride in, working counts and trying to stay in my zone. Even on days when I don’t feel my best, I know that I can work pitches to try to get on base. That’s what I’ve always done. That’s what I continue to keep trying to do. Even if I get screwed over sometimes, that’s going to happen. But I’m going to stay with my plan, and that’s always been my plan my whole career.”

McCutchen credits his father, Lorenzo, for teaching him the strike zone in a way that he could comprehend at a young age: This is where you hit the ball. Anything outside of that, you don’t have to swing. Just because it’s coming toward you doesn’t mean you have to swing. McCutchen learned to be selective with his pitches, saving his swings for strikes.

Not only does McCutchen lead the Pirates in walks this season, but the 15th-year veteran is enjoying a career-best 14.6% walk rate, which ranks in the 92nd percentile by Statcast. McCutchen is tied for the team lead with seven homers, ranks second in on-base percentage (.366) and third in batting average (.255), slugging percentage (.491) and OPS (.857).

Pirates manager Derek Shelton often talks about McCutchen’s ability to control the strike zone at an “elite level,” taking professional at-bats that lengthen the lineup by protecting hitters. A former hitting coach with Tampa Bay and Cleveland, Shelton has an appreciation for McCutchen surpassing 1,000 career walks.

“That’s not something that’s easy,” Shelton said. “The fact that you maintain an approach for that long and that consistent, what I mean by that is later in guys’ careers — and don’t tell him I said later in his career — they have a tendency to want to get hits. They want to chase hits. One of the things that’s been impressive for me personally with Cutch, not only this year but going back the past couple of years: He doesn’t chase hits. If he thinks he can impact pitches, he swings at them. If not, he takes his walks. You don’t see that with guys who get later in their careers because they’re starting to chase hits. He’s not done that, and that’s impressive.”

Another lesson McCutchen has learned is to recognize both his strengths and weaknesses at the plate. He emphasizes that a hitter can only cover so much of the plate, so expanding his strike zone often leads to trouble. When McCutchen stays within himself, good things happen. When he chases pitches, it’s the opposite.

McCutchen will be the first to admit he never imagined he would draw 1,000 walks before reaching his 2,000th hit. With an RBI single in the third inning of Tuesday’s 10-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies, McCutchen recorded his 1,488th hit as a Pirate and passed Al Oliver for 12th in franchise history. McCutchen needs 24 hits for 2,000.

“No, I didn’t. If you would have asked me when I was a rookie, I would have said, ‘No, I’m definitely going to get to 2,000 hits before I get to 1,000 walks,’” McCutchen said, noting the torn ACL in his left knee that ended his 2019 season with Philadelphia after 59 games. “Maybe at a certain point of my career, I was on pace for that but things happen. That’s the game. Something I’ve realized is the (importance of) consistency, not only of getting hits but the consistency of being on the field too.”

McCutchen reached 1,000 hits on April 29, 2015 at the Chicago Cubs, early in his seventh season in the majors. He had 1,463 hits when the Pirates traded him to San Francisco in January 2018. After averaging 163 hits over his first nine seasons, McCutchen averaged 97 over the next five with the Giants, New York Yankees, Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers. Between the knee injury in 2019 and the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he missed 200-plus games. Otherwise, McCutchen believes he’d be on track for his ultimate goal.

“In my mind, I always wanted to get 3,000 hits. That would be cool to reach that milestone,” McCutchen said. “But to get there you’ve got to put in some work. The earlier parts of my career, the few good years that I had, I felt like if I could maintain that pace, I could get close. But I knew the challenges of what that would present. It’s still something I wanted to chase after. The actuality of it is to get 3,000 hits is really hard. Not even at 2,000 yet and here I am, 36. I will get it. But even 2,000 hits is a challenge in itself, too.”

That brings McCutchen to a different discussion. After starting five of the first 13 games in right field, McCutchen hasn’t played in the outfield since April 13. He has served as designated hitter in 24 games, partly out of necessity with Ji-Man Choi (Achilles) on the 60-day injured list. A 2012 NL Gold Glove winner once known for his speed, McCutchen has been slow to embrace the idea of serving as a full-time DH. But he’s contemplating the eventual conversation, knowing that the role has allowed accomplished hitters to play into their 40s.

“It’s finding the routine that works for me because I’m not a person that really likes to DH, but I also understand that it gives me an opportunity to prolong my career,” McCutchen said. “Also, I have to excel at it if I want to do it. There’s things that come along with it. It’s unique, in a way, because I’ve tried different things and I’m still tinkering.”

McCutchen rattles off a list of ways he’s tried to stay ready between at-bats: Taking swings in the batting cage. Going to the gym and lifting weights. Riding a stationary bike. Standing in the dugout. Sitting in the clubhouse.

None of it compares to staying ready by playing in the outfield.

“I’ve tried everything,” McCutchen said. “I think the biggest thing that is the biggest challenge for DH-ing is being on your feet. Staying on your feet and not sitting. Once you sit, you get cold, you get stiff, and then you’ve got to go out there and you’ve got to run. The biggest thing for me is just keeping my body working and moving.”

For now, McCutchen keeps moving toward his next milestone moment. He needs 24 hits to reach 2,000, three doubles for 400, six homers for 300 and one triple for 50. McCutchen ranks in the top five among active players in hits, doubles and total bases (3,355) and in the top 10 in triples, home runs and RBIs (1,018 after reaching 1,000 last Sept. 23 with Milwaukee).

That’s motivation enough for McCutchen to remain in the lineup, so he can see it on the scoreboard.

“If I stay healthy, I’m going to reach all of them,” McCutchen said. “That’s the way I look at it: Stay healthy throughout the season and I’ll reach all of those. So there’s not anything (in particular) I’m looking forward to. It’ll happen, and I’ll celebrate when it does.”