Number 3: 14th inning drama, July 11, 2015
The weekend of July 11th and 12th will go down as one of the greatest in the history of PNC Park. The Pirates had TWO dramatic, extra-inning comeback wins over the St. Louis Cardinals. I was at both of those games and I’ve never felt more emotionally invested in two regular season games in my life. The games were fantastic from start to finish.
The Saturday game featured the Pirates falling behind early, battling back multiple times. Eventually, the Cardinals took a lead in the top of the 14th. Neil Walker drew a walk in the bottom of the 14th when Andrew McCutchen stepped up to the plate…
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This moment still gives me genuine goosebumps. PNC Park was electric all night but by the 14th, it seemed like everyone was tired and ready to go home. Once the Cardinals jumped ahead again, it seemed like everyone was ready to accept defeat. When McCutchen made contact, it wasn’t an instant no-doubter. It was in the air and just kept carrying. Greg Brown has had plenty of brilliant calls during his career but the way he called this one was beautiful. He was calm until he wasn’t. Just like the remaining fans inside PNC Park.
Number 2: Creates two fans for life, May 30, 2015
All of the previous moments have been on-field, in-game. However, McCutchen was so much more than his stellar play. He was an amazing ambassador for the organization. He granted plenty of wishes and did some wonderful work with local charities. His most iconic moment was technically on the field but it was after the game had finished…
[mlbvideo id=”138593383″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]It is impossible to watch this moment and not smile. Baseball is a kids’ game at its core. It’s easy to forget that because of all the money involved in the sport. The joy in these two kids’ faces is why baseball is America’s pastime. In that moment, they weren’t thinking about McCutchen’s batting average, his WAR or any of that. They were simply euphoric because their favorite player gave them a souvenir they will likely have for the rest of their lives. Baseball is a game of stats but it most certainly is played by people. When people ask what kind of man Andrew McCutchen is, show them this clip.
CLICK HERE to see number one moment of McCutchen’s career
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