History Lesson: Rewriting History

Now that Crisis Week is over and some history has been rewritten in the DC Comics Television Universe, I am going to show a post I accidently published for a few hours back on Tuesday before realizing I had to get the Arrow Crisis post out prior to 8pm.

With the decade of the 2010s officially over, I thought it would be kind of cool to hop in the way back machine and look at an Andrew McCutchen card from 2010 that offered a prediction of Cutch heading into 2020.

The 2010 insert set had a small set size of 20 cards and the back discusses Topps prediction for how certain players will develop into the 2020 season.

The checklist is extensive in young upcoming stars.  It doesn't feature any prospects, only players who made their MLB debut prior to 2010.

Of the 20 players a few have already retired (Ryan Howard, Joe Mauer, David Wright, Andre Ethier, Ubaldo Jimenez), one has passed away (Tommy Hanson), and a few are currently free agents that may not appear in the majors in 2020 (Hunter Pence, Gordon Beckham, Matt Kemp).  Chris Coghlan appears in the set also but hasn't officially retired despite not appearing in a major league game since 2017.

The back of Cutch's card makes mention that he could have the most RBI and Home Runs by a Pirate Outfielder in a calendar decade if he surpassed Roberto Clemente's marks of 177HR and 862RBI set by Clemente in the 60s.

A few things about that jumped out to me as I normally don't think of Clemente as a big bopper RBI and HR machine.  I think of guys like Willie Stargell, Ralph Kiner, and Dave Parker.  Brian Giles and Jason Bay in recent memory also stand out, but neither of them had the longevity for a decade long run.

Stargell played a full calendar decade with the Pirates in the 70s, but the majority of that decade he was already transitioning to a full time first baseman.

Ralph Kiner mashed the baseball in his very brief career but that career lasted only from April 1946 to September 1955.  From his debut season in 1946 until 1952, Kiner lead the National League in HRs seven consecutive years (a feat that no other player in history has done).

Parker suffered a fate of not playing a calendar decade much the same way that many other players felt.  His prime in the late 70s rode into the early 80s and wasn't enough to match what Clemente did for the entire decade of the 60s.

Cutch played with the Pirates from 2009 to 2017, having been traded prior to the 2018 season.  That gives Clemente an edge in that he had 2 more full seasons to accumulate stats.

With that being said, Cutch outpaced Clemente in the Home Run department with 191 over 8 seasons versus Clemente's 177 over 10.  Clemente did have more RBIs though accumulating 862 RBI compared to Cutch's 671.

Those numbers look pretty drastic, but how would Cutch's numbers looked if he kept playing in Pittsburgh (and assuming healthy in 2019)?

Cutch averaged 84 RBI over his Pirates career along with 24 HR in the 2010s.  Those numbers are comparable with his "decline years" in 2016 and 2017.  Had he stayed healthy and finished out the 2019 season with the Pirates he likely would have hit 239 Home Runs for the 2010s along with 839 RBI.

To say that it would surprise no one that he would compare to an All Time Pirates Legend like Clemente is accurate, but what Topps didn't take into account was the Pirates financial situation of being a small market club.

Ultimately Cutch was traded and is on his third team since leaving the Steel City despite playing just 214 games since the close of the 2017 season. Much like so many other Pirates fan favorites before like Jason Bay, Cutch may not be a forever Pirate, but he will forever be remembered as a Pirate.

The Pirates three straight Wild Card finishes may not be on the same level as the Jim Kelly/Thurman Thomas/Bruce Smith Buffalo Bills, but for a very brief window the Pirates with one of the smallest payrolls in baseball was a legit World Series contender for three consecutive years.  They also lost three straight Win or Go Home games much like the Never Dynasty of the Bills.

Many people forget this because of Mike Trout's quick rise, but Cutch became a face of baseball and was a top 3 player for four consecutive years.

He still lives in Pittsburgh and is an active member of the community.