Did the Pittsburgh Pirates team anticipate such a future? The franchise star uniform number, which had to be let go due to financial circumstances, found its owner after six years. Andrew McCutchen, who returned to Pittsburgh, is number 22 even in the past, when he was in his prime, and now after returning with a one-year contract.
McCutchen made his major league debut in 2009 after being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the 11th overall pick in the first round of the 메이저사이트 2005 draft. And until 2017, he spent 13 years with Pittsburgh, including nine major league seasons and minor league seasons. He has accomplished a lot in Pittsburgh, from being an All-Star selection five years in a row to being named Silver Slugger four years in a row and winning the National League MVP in 2013.
Pittsburgh, led by Pirate Captain McCutchen, made a sensation by advancing to the postseason for three consecutive years from 2013 to 2015. It was selected as an exemplary case of low-cost, high-efficiency, small market team operation. It was also an innovative team that gathered ground ball induction pitchers and introduced an active defensive shift. However, McCutchen’s relationship with Pittsburgh was not to last forever.
Pittsburgh traded McCutchen ahead of the 2018 season. McCutchen, who left his home team, had been on the edge of his career, playing for four teams in San Francisco, Yankees, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee for five years. Then, he returned to Pittsburgh ahead of this season, albeit on a one-year contract.
McCutchen, who has returned, uses the same number 22 uniform he wore from 2009 to 2017. Until now, no one in Pittsburgh has had this number. The number, which was not allowed even for the best prospects, found its owner.’
McCutchen expressed his attachment to the number by explaining why he kept the number 22. He originally wanted the number 24 of his childhood idol, Ken Griffey Jr., who was wearing number 24 by Tom Gorzelani in Pittsburgh at the time. But even after Gorzelani was traded in 2009, McCutchen kept the number 22.
“Going through the 2009 season, when people saw me wearing my uniform, I wondered how something like this could happen. I thought I’d keep the number 22,” McCutchen said. He wore number 22 with San Francisco and Philadelphia, and number 26 with the Yankees. Last year he put on No. 24 in Milwaukee alone.
McCutchen, who returned to wearing number 22, expressed his gratitude, saying, “Thank you to those who kept this number, and I respect the players who did not say they wanted it.”