Around the Curve | Andrew McCutchen’s Milestone Homer Puts Him in Select Company

CURVE, Pa. - The first month of the baseball calendar did not set up kindly for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but there were no lack of feel-good stories coming out of the 412.

Jared Jones wowed Bucco fans with his dominant pitching efforts, Joey Bart joined the team with Pittsburgh roots and performed well, and the Pirates started the season 5-0 for the first time since 1983.

But perhaps the best story from the Pirates’ April slate was one that had been awaiting a cinematic conclusion for nearly eight months.

On April 14, in the ninth inning of an afternoon game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Andrew McCutchen drove a slider into the left-field seats for his first home run of the season.

It was the 300^th of his storied career.

This was a milestone that fans had been holding their breath on for quite some time, as Cutch hit the 299^th home run of his career on August 22, 2023. A full offseason of wondering whether the 37-year-old would re-sign in Pittsburgh to surpass the mark played out, but the Pirates brought back their most popular player of the 21^st century to assure this story would have a happy ending.

Although the shot occurred on the road, it still happened in a ballpark that held significance to McCutchen, who played for the Phillies from 2019-2021. The home run drew cheers from fans of both sides of the Keystone state, a rare occasion in the sports world.

McCutchen became the fourth player to hit his 300^th home run in a Pirates uniform, joining Ralph Kiner (1953), Willie Stargell (1973), and Jeromy Burnitz (2006). It was his 216^th home run as a Pirate, leaving him 24 shy of catching Roberto Clemente for third-most in franchise history.

McCutchen is one of the most decorated Altoona Curve alums in the franchise’s 26-year history. His five All-Star game appearances are the second-most in franchise history, behind Gerrit Cole and Jose Bautista, who each have made six midsummer classics. He is the only alum to win a Most Valuable Player award.

McCutchen’s now 302 career home runs trail only Bautista, who hit 344 in his career. No other player in team history has gone on to hit more than 200 home runs in the majors, with only six others hitting 100: Pedro Alvarez (162), Josh Bell (156), Starling Marte (151), Neil Walker (149), Bryan Reynolds (102), and Nate McLouth (101).

However, when you look at all-around production at the Major League level amongst Curve alums, Cutch stands alone. He is now the 13^th player in Major League Baseball history with 2,000 hits, 400 doubles, 45 triples, 300 home runs, and 200 stolen bases.

McCutchen played 138 games for the Curve from 2006-2007, and to this day he is still the youngest player to take the field for Altoona, making his Double-A debut on August 15, 2006 at 19 years, 10 months, and five days old. The 11^th overall pick in the 2005 MLB Draft played in the final 20 games of the 2006 season en route to being named the Pirates Minor League Player of the Year.

When he returned in 2007, he was the Pirates No. 1 prospect per Baseball America, but his numbers cooled off. He finished his Curve tenure with a .265 batting average, 13 home runs and 60 RBIs in 138 games.

Although the Pirates star has never returned to Curve, PA in his playing career, he spoke fondly last summer about his memories playing at Blair County Ballpark, now known as Peoples Natural Gas Field.

“I remember driving from Hickory to Altoona for the first time, and once you get off the highway you see this grand stadium, it was really cool to see that because it felt like a big jump towards the big leagues,” said McCutchen. “You saw familiar faces all the time with fans and form a relationship with those people. It was very close knit and it was a place you wanted to show up to every day.”

McCutchen may not stand at the top of the All-Time performers in Curve history, but with his numerous Major-League accolades and larger-than-life personality, he is easily one of the most beloved players in team history.