MILWAUKEE -- Andrew McCutchen's not 18 anymore, but he hasn't changed all that much, either.
The kid I was covering way back when in Bradenton, Fla., the one who'd just partaken in his first big-league spring training, the one who'd impressed from front to finish, the one who'd already begun to form the foundation for the Pirates' next competitive team ... was also the one who'd stormed out of the locker room upon being told he hadn't made the Pittsburgh roster.
Really. As a teenager.
He's 35 now. He's bounced around a bit, more than a performer of his caliber probably should, ever since Neal Huntington traded him to the Giants in the exchange that brought Bryan Reynolds to Pittsburgh. From San Francisco to New York to Philadelphia, and now here, as part of a Milwaukee team some see as the favorite for the National League pennant. He's still productive, and he's still as bluntly honest and straightforward as ever.
After a few moments of personal back-and-forth and catching up -- hey, he recognized me through the mask! -- a wide-ranging conversation followed, and here's the entirety of what he had to say:
• On how Pittsburgh fans might feel the Pirates are poised, particularly after signing Ke'Bryan Hayes, for a resurgence like the one built around him in the early 2010s: "I guess, for the fans, it’s a good thing to feel that way, right? To be quite honest, I haven’t paid much attention to what’s happening over there. It’s a different ball club. The whole thing’s different now. It’s kinda like when you’re out of college, but you still watch your alma mater because you have some friends who still play there … but I haven’t played with anybody over there now. … It’s good for the fan base, though. It’s always good when you’re able to lock down a player like Ke’Bryan. It’s a good start for them."
• On what it's like to be the guy in a market that hasn't seen much successful baseball: "It is what you make it. You might have people who put certain things over you. But it’s up to you, as the person, as the player, to make whatever you want to make out of it. If you want to feel like you have the pressure of the franchise on your shoulders, you can make yourself feel that way. But if you can just be the player you know you can be, you don’t have to worry about all that stuff. That’ll come. Yeah, speaking from personal experience, I didn’t feel like I had 20 years of losing on my shoulders. I felt like I was just part of the franchise, trying to help the franchise win. And it’s gonna take more than one person. Just go out and do your job. If they’re gonna talk, let ‘em talk. If they’re gonna write, let ‘em write. Just let it be, you know?"
• On how he really didn't need to be that guy once A.J. Burnett, Russell Martin, Travis Snider and other leader types arrived: "Everyone has their own position, outside of what their position actually is. You’ve got the talkers. You’ve got the gamers. The grinders. The fighters. You just need to figure out who you are. I think once you figure that part out, you should be pretty golden from there. Me, I was more the laidback … I spoke when I needed to speak, but I let my actions do most of the talking. I might speak up a little more now, talk a little more now, because I know that ears will listen. For the most part, just be who you are."
• On that now-famous gesture of holding both hands up to the sky when the Pirates won their 82nd game in 2013 and broke the 20-year streak of losing seasons: "Ha! No one saw what I did after the first win, the second, third. I did that after every win. I still do it to this day. Nothing has changed. It’s not like I was, ‘Oh thank God, we finally did it.’ Nah, just another win, another day out here, another day doing it. Not much has changed, man. Same old same. Just remain the same person as much as you can. If you fall off it, try to pick yourself up and get back on it. Know that there are a bunch of other people who could help you."
• On whether he thought the Pirates might reach out this past offseason, given his being a free agent and Pittsburgh's clear need at the corner outfield spots: "There were a lot of calls. This was the best fit. Put it like that. There were a lot of teams that called. I didn’t care necessarily about what the number was. I just wanted to know more of what my opportunity is going to be. How do you plan to use me? I had a lot of platoon roles, off the bench, lefties, considering the splits the year before. Knowing me and knowing myself, I felt like I was better than that. I stuck with it. The Brewers offered me something that I felt I couldn’t refuse. It was a good fit. It was a good fit for me. You see what these guys have done in this division the past four years. So hopefully, we can keep that going.
On whether the Pirates were among those calls: "They called, but they didn’t offer. They called, they reached out, but it didn’t go past that. I don’t know. I don’t necessarily know what happened. That’s my agent’s job. I do know they called."
On whether he feels he has unfinished business in chasing a championship, having been part of the 98-win Pirates in 2015 who were sunk in the wild-card one-and-done: "I don’t think past today. If not for my wife or if I just happened to see it, I wouldn’t know where our next road trip is gonna be. I don’t know. Literally, I show up, I look at the lineup, and I go, ‘OK, let’s get the day started.’ Whatever happens after that happens. I get ready for the next day after this day’s over with. ... Hopefully, when this season’s over we’re looking back at it like we’re up there. I don’t know. It’s a lot of what-ifs when you start thinking so far ahead."
On whether people in Pittsburgh, where he still lives, urged him to try to come back over the winter: "Not a whole lot. No, not really. I’m kind of a normal. I’m around. It’s not like I peek my head out every now and then. It’s no different than when I used to live Downtown. I walked around everywhere. When I’m home, I’m out. I’m walking around, going to the grocery store, doing whatever I need to do. I didn’t really have those conversations. There weren’t many people saying things. It was kind of like, ‘Oh, hey, Cutch.’ That’s basically the end of it. I’m a staple there. At the end of the day we’re somewhat family. I didn’t have a whole lot of those conversations, really. I think a lot of people still thought I was on the Phillies. Most people that I talked to. Most people didn’t know I was a free agent. They were just like, ‘Oh, How’s Philly?’ It was good. That’s kind of the end of it."
On how much his legacy in Pittsburgh means to him: "It means a lot. It’s great. What am I, one stolen base away from 200? I had a lot of those stolen bases with the Pirates. A lot of those home runs with the Pirates. A lot of history, playing nine seasons there. You’re gonna build a lot of great relationships with not only your teammates but the fan base, as well. The impact I had when I was there, I still feel it every time I go back. I’ve only been back twice, but I feel that every single game, every single at-bat, every single pitch. I feel that. That doesn’t leave. It quite frankly will never leave. But it shows the importance that organization and franchise held to me more than anything. I don’t take for granted. I don’t take it lightly, either."
