Andrew McCutchen wants to play baseball

We are lucky in Philadelphia to get a few athletes that are awesome both on the field and off of it. I could go through and mention some of them, but instead, let’s talk about Andrew McCutchen.

From afar, while he was in Pittsburgh (then San Francisco and New York), McCutchen has always been one of those athletes that we wished was on our team. The on field excellence was easy to see, but it was also apparent that his teammates loved him, the cities he played in loved him and an impact was made by his community work on each city he interacted with. He’s not just a great player - he’s a wonderful human being.

Playboy recently published an article that McCutchen wrote where he talks about how badly he wants to get back on the field. The whole thing is worth reading because the burning desire leaps off of the page, showing you a player that wants this pandemic to be over as badly as we do. Here are a few of the more interesting quotes.

You’d like to think all the players are talking among themselves through these times. But it really doesn’t happen, unless there’s something super important that needs to be said to everybody, which isn’t that often. You talk to or text the handful of guys you really hang out with.

This was pretty surprising to me since I would have just assumed that players were always talking to each other. It also makes sense, since many of these players are probably spending as much time as possible with the families they don’t get to see during the season. While the circumstances in which they are forced to stay home are some of the most stressful conditions possible, the time they are getting to spend is something that they are probably holding closely and cherishing. McCutchen reiterates this sentiment later on.

It’s tremendous, because these are moments I wouldn’t ever get back.

However, just because they are home with their families, soaking up the time as much as possible, that shouldn’t be mistaken for a desire for the quarantine to last as long as possible. Quite the contrary:

Everyone on our team is itching to be back—especially Bryce Harper. Bryce was having a really good spring; he had really good numbers and was looking really good.

Yeah, they’re ready to go.

The last part of the essay is what McCutchen thinks will happen in 2020. It’s the big question on everyone’s mind, the “will they or won’t they?” dilemma that is currently driving everyone mad. What does he think?

My final prediction for the season? Just this: We will have a season.

Let’s hope so, Andrew. Let’s hope so...