Andrew McCutchen may unfortunately end his career not in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform. The 39-year-old outfielder has one of the most storied careers in baseball in the 21st century. His career may be coming to an end in the very near future, but that only means his Hall of Fame clock begins. His candidacy may be stronger than many think (and it has nothing to do with Hall of Fame standards, which have only gotten more difficult).
McCutchen has been a very productive hitter throughout his 17 season career. He has a career .271/.365/.457 triple-slash, and 125 OPS+. Cutch has plenty of counting stats to back up his production. He has 332 home runs, 3813 total bases, and 2266 hits. He has also swiped 220 bases throughout his career. McCutchen’s trophy cabinet has plenty of accolades. He has gone to five All-Star games, has taken home four silver slugger awards, a Gold Glove, the 2013 National League Most Valuable Player award, and a Roberto Clemente award. Overall, McCutchen comes in with +49 bWAR.
McCutchen’s blend of speed and power is rare. Only 16 players since integration have hit at least 300 home runs with 200 or more steals have not made the Hall of Fame. Five of them have a strong connection to steroids, such as Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, and Gary Sheffield. Cutch and Mike Trout are the only players who are still active.
But of those 16, only nine have collected at least 2000 hits. Once again, four of those players are connected to steroids. The remaining five include McCutchen, Joe Carter, Don Baylor, Alfonso Soriano, and Steven Finley. Cutch has the highest OPS+ of those five by far. The next closest is Don Baylor, who had a career 118 OPS+. McCutchen also has the most bWAR of those five as well. Steve Finley is the only one with at least 40 bWAR, coming in at 44.2.
So to boil it down, only five players since integration have at least 2000 hits, 300 homers, 200 steals, a 120 OPS+, 45 bWAR, and aren’t in the Hall of Fame. That list includes Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, and Andrew McCutchen. That is very good company, and the only reason Bonds, Sosa, Rodriguez, and Sheffield are not in the Hall are because of steroids, or off-field issues. McCutchen is the only one who is free of steroid suspicion, and is generally considered one of the best guys in the game.
While a combination of hits, home runs, stolen bases, OPS+, and bWAR may seem like cherry picking stats, it covers many important bases Hall of Fame voters base their votes on. McCutchen has plenty of counting stats: Over 300 home runs, 2000 hits, and 200 stolen bases. His rate stats are great. A 125 OPS+ is outstanding, especially for someone who spent over half of their career in center field. He passes the analytics test. His 49 bWAR is the eighth most by any outfielder in the 2000s. Even with Hall of Fame standards getting stricter, McCutchen is one of the best players of the 21st century, and deserves a spot in Cooperstown when he is on the ballot.
