Andrew McCutchen has been the face of the Pittsburgh Pirates since his call-up to the big leagues in 2009. He has been named a National League MVP, a five-time all-star, and a four time silver slugger award winner. However, is he able to be named among the greats like Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell?
Andrew McCutchen is coming off a night against the Colorado Rockies where he went 3 for 5 with three home runs and five RBI. He became only the fourth Pirate to have multiple games in which he hit three home runs joining the likes of Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, and Ralph Kiner. With his name among these great Pirates players, can we consider McCutchen one of the Pirates all-time greats?
The 2016 season is the eighth year that McCutchen has been in the big leagues. He was called up following the Nate McLouth trade in 2009 and ever since has taken the Pirates and the MLB in general by storm. He is a career .297 hitter with 156 home runs and 568 RBI. He has won four silver sluggers in his career, has been a five time all-star, and was named the National League MVP in the 2013 season.
How do these numbers add up to Pittsburgh Pirates legends like Clemente, Stargell, and Honus Wagner? Each of these three players had a big impact on the teams they played on. Wagner played in a time where stats were limited and accolades were few, but numbers don't lie. Clemente and Stargell were staples in the Pirates organization from the 1950's through the 1970's and led three world series championship teams.
Wagner, also known as "The Flying Dutchman", was one of the most prolific hitters of the early 20th century. He played 21 seasons in the major leagues, 18 of those with the Pirates, and was a career .329 hitter with 101 home runs and 1,732 RBI. He was inducted into the major league baseball hall of fame in 1936 and his jersey number was retired by the Pirates in 1956.
Wagner consistently played 130-150 games a year at the short stop position and led the league in average eight times throughout the course of his career. His ability to get on base was second to none as he had a career OBP of .392 and an OPS of .858. Wagner played in an era where power was not a staple, yet he was in the top 10 in the league in home runs 10 times throughout the course of his career.
Through his first eight years of his career, Wagner hit .346 with 41 home runs and 750 RBI. While McCutchen has more power through his first eight seasons at the professional level, that is all he has on Wagner. Wagner is considered the upper-tier of the Pirates all-time greats. While McCutchen doesn't stack up to "The Flying Dutchman" not many players can say that they can.
Moving through the 20th century we come to the next tier of Pirates greats in Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente. These two players were the cornerstones of the Pirates teams in the late 1950's all the way through the 1970's. Stargell has pop unlike any other batter of his time and Clemente was a hitting machine collecting 3,000 hits in his career.
Clemente could do everything that could be done on a baseball diamond and he did all of it well. His career was cut short when he died in a plane crash following the 1972 season. In his career, he hit .317 with 240 home runs and 1,305 RBI. Clemente, much like Wagner, had an ability to get on base like no other in his time as he had a career .359 OBP and a .834 OPS.
Clemente was named NL MVP in 1966 and was the World Series MVP in the 1971 series against the Baltimore Orioles. He was a 12-time all-star throughout his time in the big leagues and lead the league in hitting four times throughout his career. He collected his 3,000 career hit on September 29, 1972. Unfortunately he could not build on that number as he died in a plane crash on his way to provide aid to Nicaragua.
Stargell was on the other end of the spectrum. He was a power hitter who mashed the baseball and could turn the game around with one swing of the bat. Stargell was a career .282 hitter with 475 home runs and 1,540 RBI. Stargell was a feared hitter at the plate and had 937 career walks and that led to his .360 OBP.
Stargell was a seven time all-star and was named both the NL MVP and World Series MVP in the 1979 season. He led the league in home runs in the 1973 and 1971 seasons and was in the top ten in home runs 10 times over the course of his career. While he was not the hit collector that Clemente was, he certainly new how to hit home runs and drive in runs for the Pirates teams he played on.
Over the course of his first eight seasons, Clemente hit .300 with 75 home runs and 494 RBI. McCutchen has a similar average as Clemente and more RBI. However, McCutchen is playing in an era that is more offensively driven than Clemente's era back in the 1970's. Clemente is what you think of when you think of historic Pirates and it is good to see McCutchen on a similar track as he was.
Stargell through his first eight seasons in the league shows a lot of production. He hit .275 with 196 home runs and 651 RBI. Stargell clearly has more power and production than McCutchen but the average isn't as high as that of McCutchen. Stargell was one of the most prolific power hitters of his day and was a big run producer for the Pirates in a time where power numbers werent as high as they are today.
While McCutchen is on track with what Roberto Clemente did throughout his first eight seasons, it would not be right to put McCutchen on his level right now. If McCutchen's current production can be sustained then there is a possibility, but as of now he is still below "The Great One."
Willie Stargell meant so much to the Pirates teams he was on much like McCutchen has throughout his career. The leader of the "We Are Family" teams, Stargell had the ability to turn a game around with one swing. He was a great guy in the clubhouse and helped the Pirates win two World Series Championships over the course of his career.
I would personally compare McCutchen to a less powerful version of Willie Stargell. Both were key players on their respective teams and were the big run producers for the Pirates. Each used their primary talents to their advantage and helped their teams win ball games. Only time will tell if McCutchen can continue his success at the major league level and transfer that into a hall of fame career, but for now he will go out day in and day out and do the best he can to produce for the current Pittsburgh Pirates team.
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