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In farewell, Andrew McCutchen says Pittsburgh 'will always be home' | TribLIVE.com
Pirates/MLB

In farewell, Andrew McCutchen says Pittsburgh 'will always be home'

Rob Biertempfel
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Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review
Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen acknowledges a standing ovation from fans during his first at-bat in the first inning against the Orioles Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017, at PNC Park.
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Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review
Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen celebrates his first home run of the season during the fifth inning against the Brewers on April 16, 2016, at PNC Park.

When the Pirates last week traded Andrew McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants, a door closed in McCutchen's career and in his life.

Yet, McCutchen plans to open it again someday.

"It's a glass door," McCutchen wrote in a Players' Tribune column that ran on Monday. "I'm going to look back through it, fondly and often. And I'm going to walk back through it when the time is right."

McCutchen plans to keep up his offseason home in Pittsburgh's northern suburbs, where he lives with his wife Maria and their newborn son Steel.

"Come on, guys. I'm never leaving Pittsburgh," McCutchen said. "Maybe when I'm 100 they'll drag my butt back down to Florida, snowbird-style. Pittsburgh … it's home. It will always be home."

On the day of the trade, general manager Neal Huntington called McCutchen to say reports of a done deal were premature.

"(Huntington) was all class," McCutchen said. "He made me feel like I was still a guy the Pirates cared about, even as they were giving me up."

About an hour later, Huntington called back to say the trade had been finalized. That's when McCutchen realized he never would live out his dream of ending his career with the Pirates.

"So it just stings a little, now, to know that's not in the cards for me," McCutchen said. "That was the first thing that crossed my mind after the phone call with Neal — how I'd thought I might've had a chance, a real chance, to wear only one cap for all my baseball life. And now I'm going to wear another one."

McCutchen said he is excited — he wrote the word in all capital letters — to join the Giants.

"This is an organization that is all about winning talent, and all about winning culture," McCutchen said. "And that's what I'm about, too. So to say this is a good fit … it's an understatement, man. It's a perfect fit, for me to get traded here."

Rob Biertempfel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at rbiertempfel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BiertempfelTrib.