Andrew McCutchen’s return to Pittsburgh: pic.twitter.com/UuSOrjXXA3
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) May 11, 2018
After donning the Yellow and Black for nine seasons, Andrew McCutchen made his return to Pittsburgh for the first time as a member of the San Francisco Giants on Friday evening, and received an extended standing ovation from the 34,720 in attendance. The ovation lasted 45 seconds.
McCutchen said after the game that he tried to enter the batters box earlier, but Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli wasn’t having any of it.
“I signaled to him I was ready to go but he shook his head no,” McCutchen told The Athletic, smiling. “So I was able to step back and just continue to be in that moment.”
McCutchen ended up striking out looking in his first at-bat. The PNC Park crowd responded by booing the umpire.
“Yeah, it’s a little different,” said McCutchen, about Pirates fans cheering for him all night. “It shows what this fan base is all about, man. They’re ride or die. They’ve been riding with me and seems like they’ll keep riding with me.”
McCutchen won an NL MVP and made five All-Star appearances as a member of the Pirates from 2009-2017.
