Pittsburgh Pirates Legend Andrew McCutchen Crushes 300th Career Home Run
The Pittsburgh Pirates were already well on their way to a win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, but they still had one major moment to pull out of their bag in the final frame.
Designated hitter Andrew McCutchen came up to the plate with one out and one on in the top of the ninth inning, Pittsburgh leading 7-2. McCutchen added to that lead, crushing a home run to left off of reliever Ricardo Pinto.
The two-run shot was the 300th of McCutchen's storied career, putting him in some exclusive company. He became the 160th player to join the 300 home run club and the 12th active player to reach the mark.
McCutchen has spent 11 of his 16 seasons in Pittsburgh, splitting the rest between the Phillies, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers. 216 of McCutchen's 300 home runs have come in a Pirates uniform, which ranks fourth in franchise history behind Willie Stargell's 475, Ralph Kiner's 301 and Roberto Clemente's 240.
Barry Bonds and Dave Parker are other former Pirates who exceeded 300 home runs, but neither did so while playing for the Pirates.
McCutchen is a .275 hitter for his career, racking up 2,055 hits, 1,049 RBI, 217 stolen bases, an .834 OPS and a 48.4 WAR since debuting in 2009. The five-time All-Star and 2013 NL MVP is one of 99 players with 300 career home runs and 2,000 career hits.
Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo is the next closest to reaching 300 career home runs. The 24-year-old slugger is currently sitting at 296.
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