Pirates' Andrew McCutchen finds right mix of nostalgia and having a job to do
Andrew McCutchen understands he has a job to do as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ designated hitter and No. 3 hitter in the batting order.
But he’s also embracing the nostalgia of his first game back at PNC Park in six years.
“You don’t separate it. You embrace it,” he said before the first pitch Friday. “You also have a job. You go out there and you do your job.
“You’re going to have emotions and experience. It’s like getting married. You’re going to have the nostalgia of seeing your significant other walk down the aisle. You’re gonna feel the way that you feel. But you also know you’re there to have commitment to your partner. It’s really no different. You’re going to experience it, feel all the things that you need to feel, but at the end of the day, when you step between those lines, it’s time to go.”
He will set aside time to enjoy the day.
“I embrace all the feelings because you’re supposed to have ‘em. There’s no point in suppressing them,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the day. In my mind, I’m trying to put my feet up and just experience it and be a part of it, so I can have this day to where I can remember it for the rest of my life.”
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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