On Sunday, Pittsburgh Pirates legend Andrew McCutchen picked up his 2,000th career hit as the Bucs defeated the New York Mets by a final score of 2-1.
McCutchen received a warm hand from the fans in Pittsburgh after accomplishing this feat.
But as the 36-year-old’s career winds down, it’s time to potentially consider him as a candidate for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
The veteran slugger won the National League MVP Award back in 2013 after helping the Pirates break their long stretch of losing seasons.
On MLB Now, Brian Kenny discussed the potential case for McCutchen to be enshrined in Cooperstown when his career comes to an end.
BK examines the career of Andrew McCutchen so far and if he has a case for Cooperstown. #MLBNow pic.twitter.com/t3S61NMERW
— MLB Now (@MLBNow) June 13, 2023
Kenny noted that at present, McCutchen has a career WAR of 48, with 50 being the mark to pass to be considered for Cooperstown.
From 2012-14, McCutchen had a batting average of .320, an on-base percentage of .405, and a slugging percentage of .534.
McCutchen even had a 7.0 WAR in those three seasons.
He also had the highest WAR of any player in the National League from 2012-15, posting a mark of 26.2.
That put him ahead of Buster Posey, Paul Goldschmidt, and Joey Votto.
Only Mike Trout had a higher WAR than McCutchen during that four-year span.
So naturally, the case is pretty strong for McCutchen to be at least considered for Cooperstown.
He owns a career .277 batting average and has hit a total of 295 home runs, so he could soon join another elite list.
Kenny closed his argument by saying that for a while, McCutchen truly was one of the best players in the league, and that it should be enough to at least garner him some Hall-of-Fame consideration.
NEXT: Andrew McCutchen Has Achieved An Elite Milestone
