Where will Andrew McCutchen stand in the pantheon of Pirates all-time greats?

PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen is the greatest Pirates player to grace the grass at PNC Park, which opened its gates in 2001. He is the franchise’s finest performer since Barry Bonds, who left Pittsburgh as a free agent after the 1992 season.

A first-round pick in 2005, McCutchen easily lived up to his billing over the first nine seasons of his career. He won accolades and awards and was the spark plug of the ballclub’s transformation from a laughingstock to a playoff contender in the early 2010s.

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After spending the past five seasons with the Giants, Yankees, Phillies and Brewers, McCutchen rejoined the Pirates last winter. At 36, he’s transitioned from All-Star outfielder to designated hitter. He still flashes elite skills, but his electric moments on the field happen less often these days.

The twilight of a player’s career is a time for reaching milestones.McCutchen is five shy of 2,000 hits, fifth-most among active players, and probably will hit that mark during the nine-game homestand that begins Friday against the Cardinals. He’s also closing in on 400 doubles (one shy), 50 triples (one shy) and 300 home runs (five shy).

It also is a time for reflection. When his career is over, whether that’s after this season or a few years from now, where will McCutchen fit in the pantheon of Pirates players?

“What I’ve watched him do for baseball in Pittsburgh is second to none,” said Pirates relief pitcher David Bednar, who grew up a 30-minute drive from PNC Park.

“There’s no doubt that Cutch is ‘that guy’ for the Pirates in my lifetime.”

That’s an important caveat by Bednar, who is only 28 years old and shares a birthday (Oct. 10) with McCutchen. This is the Pirates’ 137th season in the National League — a lot of history, a lot of players. Will McCutchen someday be mentioned in the same breath as legends such as Roberto Clemente, Honus Wagner and Willie Stargell?

“It’s nice to be compared to people that were a big part of this franchise,” McCutchen said. “But the difference is, those guys made their whole careers wearing one uniform. If you’d asked me before I got traded (in January 2018) if I felt I should be up there with those guys, I’d have said yeah. But now … I don’t know.

“I’m gonna hit some milestones this year, and that’s gonna feel good. But it would have meant a little more to do it only wearing a Pirates uniform. So, where do I fit? I really don’t know. I understand where I’m at. I understand what I meant (to the Pirates) in the 2010s, but now we’re in the 2020s. So … I don’t know, man. It’s something to ponder, for sure, but I don’t think about it too much.”

Andrew McCutchen, in black and gold once again, takes the field for the 2023 home opener. (Charles LeClaire / USA Today)

In his first stint with the Pirates from 2009 through 2017, McCutchen won one Most Valuable Player Award and made five All-Star teams. He produced 45.9 fWAR during that period, which trailed only Mike Trout, Buster Posey, Joey Votto, Miguel Cabrera and Robinson Canó.

Player	Games	PA	fWAR	Avg	OPS ▲	wRC+	HR	SB
1039	4260	48.6	.308	.850	135	128	20
1346	5829	45.9	.291	.866	137	203	171
1425	6131	46.8	.305	.866	133	239	39
1346	5774	47.8	.322	.965	158	287	20
1255	5463	47.8	.315	.980	162	229	64
925	4065	53.5	.306	.976	169	201	165

“Andrew was the best non-Trout player in the game for a bit when he was in Pittsburgh during his offensive prime,” Votto recently told The Athletic. “He was fantastic. It was fun watching it and competing against him. The Pirates were excellent then, and he was very clearly the best player on that team.”

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A decade later, McCutchen is still swinging. If not for a knee injury in 2019 that essentially robbed him of a full season, McCutchen would have already zoomed past 2,000 career hits.

There are 293 major leaguers who have collected 2,000 or more hits. Getting to 2,000 doesn’t necessarily punch a player’s ticket to the Hall of Fame, but it’s hard to imagine an outfielder getting in without at least reaching that mark.

Whether McCutchen belongs in the Hall of Fame is a debate for another day. The Athletic’s Jayson Stark believes McCutchen falls short of Cooperstown status.

Let’s stay on topic: Where does McCutchen fit among the greatest Pirates? (Note: All stats in the chart are updated through May 30.)

Career stats with Pirates

Player	G	PA	HR	SB	Avg	OPS	wRC+	fWAR
Honus Wagner	2433	10220	82	639	.328	.862	151	127.2
Roberto Clemente	2433	10212	240	83	.317	.834	129	80.6
Paul Waner	2154	9537	109	100	.340	.896	137	70.6
Arky Vaughn	1411	6181	84	86	.324	.887	143	63.1
Willie Stargell	2360	9026	475	17	.282	.889	145	62.9
Max Carey	2178	9654	67	688	.287	.754	112	57.7
Fred Clarke	1479	6368	33	261	.299	.797	134	50.9
Barry Bonds	1010	4255	176	251	.275	.883	145	48.4
Andrew McCutchen	1394	6027	211	176	.290	.864	136	46.7
Ralph Kiner	1095	4732	301	19	.280	.971	153	42

In 2013, McCutchen batted .317 and set career highs in doubles (38) and on-base percentage (.404). He became the sixth player in franchise history to amass 100 homers and 100 stolen bases in his career.

McCutchen was a runaway winner for the 2013 NL MVP, capturing 28 of 30 first-place votes in balloting conducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He joined former Pirates winners Bonds (1990 and ’92), Clemente (1966), Stargell (1979), Dave Parker (1978) and Dick Groat (1960).

From left, Dick Groat, Barry Bonds, and McCutchen, with his 2013 Silver Slugger Award, on Opening Day in 2014. (Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)

The Pirates’ hit king is Clemente, whose career tragically was cut short after he got to 3,000 in 1972. The runner-up is Wagner, who got 2,970 hits with the Pirates, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, and was part of the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 1936.

McCutchen has recorded 1,510 hits with the Pirates, which ranks 12th on the club’s list. He’s looking up at Tommy Leach, a fine player but not a Hall of Famer, who got 1,603 hits with Pittsburgh. To crack the franchise’s top 10, McCutchen must pass Fred Clarke (1,638 hits).

In other significant categories, McCutchen already is comfortably among the Pirates’ all-time leaders. He’s fourth with 211 homers behind Stargell (475), Ralph Kiner (301) and Clemente (240). McCutchen ranks seventh in walks, doubles and extra-base hits; ninth in total bases; and 10th in RBIs.

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Only three players in franchise history have produced more than a pair of three-homer games. Kiner and Stargell each did it four times. McCutchen has done it three times, and the first happened only two months into his rookie season.

“I’m honored to be mentioned in some of the same categories as those guys. I don’t take that lightly,” McCutchen said. “I know I have some numbers and people will say, ‘Hey, you’re one of four to do this or that,’ and I’ll be like, ‘Wow, that’s tremendous.’ But, I’m not done (playing). When it’s all said and done and I look back on what I did, then I can assess it a little more.”

McCutchen said pitchers generally are better and throw harder now than when he made his big-league debut. The game also has been impacted by several rule changes, such as the rise and fall of the infield shift, and the introduction of the pitch clock and the three-batter minimum for pitchers. The strike zone has morphed from one season to the next pretty much since the first pitch of the first game.

Bob Walk has a unique vantage point on the past four decades of Pirates history. As a rookie with the Phillies in 1980, Walk pitched against Parker and Stargell. Walk joined the Pirates in 1984 and was teammates with standouts such as Bonds, Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla. He’s been in the broadcast booth for all of McCutchen’s career.

“I don’t feel comfortable doing the (player) rating thing,” Walk said. “What makes it so tough is the different teams those guys played on and what those teams needed from them at the time. The Paul Waner era, the Clemente era, the Parker era — they’re all different. Different times. Different things were more important. Different approaches by management.”

“When it’s all said and done and I look back on what I did, then I can assess it a little more,” McCutchen said of his legacy. (Jared Wickerham / Getty Images)

Baseball is quantified by numbers more than any other sport. Yet, statistics are not the only measure of a player’s greatness. A player’s legacy is tied to the championships he helped create.

Without McCutchen, the raucous 2013 wild-card game at PNC Park probably would never have happened and the Pirates’ streak of losing seasons before that year might still be going strong.

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Yet, even when McCutchen was in his prime, the Pirates went 1-for-3 in wild-card games and never won a playoff series. It’s been 44 years since Pittsburgh last celebrated a World Series triumph.

“Is Andrew one of the best players that’s ever worn a Pirates uniform? Nobody would argue with that,” Walk said. “Is he better than Parker or more impactful than Stargell? I don’t know. Let’s just say his name’s in that group — one of our all-time greats.”

Fair enough.

The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans contributed reporting to this story.

(Top photo: Joe Sargent / Getty Images)