Wednesday was walk-up music day for the Pirates. The home opener was two days away, and if the players cared what plays as they step to the plate for that first home game, they should probably get it in that day.
Talking with Andrew McCutchen at Fenway Park, I asked if he picked out what he is coming out to.
"Yeah," he responded, "but I'm not going to be able to hear it."
He was right. PNC Park got plenty loud Friday when McCutchen was introduced pregame and when he stepped up to the plate for the first time against the White Sox.
At his locker postgame, McCutchen's first answer started with "I love these fans." The feeling is obviously mutual.
It's a moment that those heading into a packed PNC Park have most likely thought of many a time. Not the man at the center of that applause, though.
"The one thing I try to do, to not cheat myself from the experience, is to not think about it," McCutchen said before the Pirates' 13-9 win over the White Sox at PNC Park Friday. "I like to go into it fresh, new. I want it to feel like it just happened because essentially that’s what’s going on. You can anticipate all you want, but you don’t know until you’re there and experiencing it."
From his pregame introduction to his mom, Petrina, singing the National Anthem, to the MVP chants, it was just about what anyone could have hoped for.
And that first swing back? Well, of course it had to be a base hit, and of course the ovation fueled him, even if he had to fight back some tears welting in his eyes.
"It affected it, but it affected it in a positive way," McCutchen said. "I remember coming back here for the first time after I got traded in 2018. I remember getting that same ovation, but it was different. I was emotional then, too, but it was a different type of emotion. That one definitely affected the at-bat in a positive and negative way. But this one, it was positive. It felt good. It was like it was supposed to happen."
So what's different about this opening day? Well, as AJ Burnett joked with him pregame, McCutchen is the old guy now. But it's also the first time McCutchen will have his kids in PNC Park's stands for the opener. His oldest, Steel, is starting to get curious about McCutchen's career. Now five years old, he'll ask why that bat is silver or why that glove is gold.
Or, perhaps most pertinent, seeing an old photo and asking, "why do you have long hair?"
"We're going to be able to see reasons of why daddy loves the Pirates," McCutchen said, referring to his three young children. "They're going to get it, they're going to understand it. It's going to be a lot of fun. It's great. There's no better feeling. It's cool. I have been here with no kids and I've been here with three. We're all in newfound territory for all of us. It's gonna be fun."
The fact that McCutchen made Pittsburgh his home was one of the many reasons why he became a fan favorite, and why his No. 22 jersey was still one of the most common at the park even when he was with another club.
"I think most of the jerseys here were still Cutch jerseys," David Bednar joked with me back in Boston. "I think everyone's kept them in rotation or broke them out of the closets."
Derek Shelton is in the same boat too, saying at Fenway Park, "I notice every single game how many 22 jerseys there are." The league has confirmed there won't be a pitch clock violation for McCutchen's ovation, as to not interrupt the moment.
"I’m pretty sure that ovation is going to be something that’s really special that a lot of people in Pittsburgh have been looking forward to," Shelton said at PNC Park Friday. "I can tell you that I’ve been looking forward to it since we signed him."
Nostalgia is going to drive the applause, but McCutchen has made it clear that this isn't just a farewell tour. He believes in the group of players and thinks he can help them win again.
"It’s like getting married," McCutchen said. "You’re gonna 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 gonna 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. I embrace all the feelings because you’re supposed to have ‘em. There’s no point in suppressing them.
"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. When things start moving real fast, that’s when you start missing all the little things. You go, ‘Man, I wish I would have sat back and just breathed it in.’ That’s what I’m trying to do."
In January, McCutchen revealed that he sometimes had difficulties driving past PNC Park these last five years because he knew he wasn't going to play there. He gets to go back to work there Friday.
And as he walked past the visitor's clubhouse Friday, one thought crossed his mind: "Thank God."
"You only get one Opening Day at home," McCutchen said. "I’ve just been thankful that I had the opportunity to come back and to be able to experience it again."
It was a surreal day, to borrow his phrasing, one that lived up to everything he wanted it to be.
"It’s something that I’m going to sit back and look on and think about more when it’s quiet and [I’m not] amped up from the game and I’m actually able to be home and relax when the kids are sleeping. I’ll be able to sit there and really think about it. It was emotional. It was good. It was positive. It was awesome."
