Brewers McCutchen compiling Hall of Fame resume
By JERRY TAPP
Back on September 23, Brewers’ outfielder/DH Andrew McCutchen collected his 1,000th career RBI. He is now one of 300 players to reach the 1,000-RBI milestone in MLB history.
The 14-year veteran, who will turn 36 on October 10, has had a solid career and with the Brewers is now playing for his fifth team. He made a name for himself with the Pittsburgh Pirates, playing his first nine seasons with the Bucs where he was the National League MVP in 2013, a five-time All-Star, and was awarded both a Silver Slugger Award and Gold Glove.
Reaching 1,000 RBI is not the only milestone McCutchen has on his resume. He has 1,000 runs (1,118 to be exact), and 200 stolen bases (205 to be exact). Two other milestones are within his reach: He has 1,947 hits and 287 home runs. He could reach those milestones in a 15th season.
There are two questions that need to be asked with regards to McCutchen and his future: (1) He is signed with the Brewers through this season. Should the team resign him? (2) Is McCutchen worthy of Hall of Fame consideration?
When it comes to the Brewers resigning him, McCutchen has been a decent contributor for the Brew Crew this season; Sure, his numbers are not like they were when he was winning accolades in Pittsburgh. His .238 average is several points below his career average of .277, and his .388 slugging percentage and .310 on-base percentage are the worst of his career. But his 17 HR, 69 RBI, 66 runs scored, and 121 hits are not terrible. It will be interesting what the Brewers decide with ‘Cutch.
Having said that, even if the Brewers don’t sign McCutchen, I think he will continue to play. He doesn’t seem to have given any indication that this season would be his last. I think he still has enough to be a contributor somewhere.
If he returns for a 15th campaign, reaching 300 HR and 2,000 hits will be likely. If he does reach 2,000 hits and 300 HRs, that would mean that he reached 1,000 runs, 2,000 hits, 1,000 RI, 300 HRs and 200 stolen bases. Right now, there are 18 players who reached the 1,000 runs/2,000 hits/1,000RBI/300 HRs/200 stolen base stat line in MLB history. They are:
Hank Aaron, Jeff Bagwell, Don Baylor, Carlos Beltran, Barry Bonds. George Brett, Joe Carter, Andre Dawson, Steve Finley, Reggie Jackson, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Alfonso Soriano, Sammy Sosa, Larry Walker and Dave Winfield.
Nine of the above… Aaron, Bagwell, Brett, Dawson, Jackson, Mays, Robinson, Walker and Winfield … are in the Hall of Fame.
Hall of Fame consideration for Andrew McCutchen… what’s your take?
