Cutch reunites with batting glove kids, 8 years later

LOS ANGELES — Christopher, Elijah and Roger McCreary keep in mind seeing the clip first start to flow into on social media.

On Might 30, 2015, following a Pirates win over the Padres in San Diego, Andrew McCutchen jogged over to the lone Pirates followers within the left-field bleachers, a pair of children and their father. McCutchen handed the then-13-year-old Christopher his batting gloves, prompting Christopher to yell out, “I really like you, man!” Elijah, 9 years outdated on the time, fist-bumped the five-time All-Star. Roger watched the interplay unfold with an ear-to-ear smile.

The clip went viral, considered one of many defining moments from McCutchen’s first run in Pittsburgh. Eight years later, forward of the Pirates’ 5-2 loss at Dodger Stadium on Monday, the McCreary household, in the end, had the chance to formally reunite with McCutchen.

“I didn’t suppose all that was going to occur,” Elijah mentioned. “It introduced tears to my eyes.”

The McCreary household’s love for the Pirates begins with Roger, 63, who turned a fan when his mentor, the late Danny Brown, introduced him to see the black and gold in 1969 at Dodger Stadium. Certainly one of Roger’s first reminiscences was witnessing Roberto Clemente throw a ball from proper subject to house plate on the fly, and he’s caught with the Pirates as his crew since. When Roger and his spouse, Stephanie, had Christopher and Elijah, there was no query as to which crew the boys would characterize.

“It was a prerequisite that they needed to grow to be Pirate followers,” Roger laughed.

Roger had been taking Christopher, who turns 21 subsequent week, and Elijah, now 17, to Pirates video games in Southern California effectively earlier than their interplay with McCutchen. The yellow jersey that Christopher wore that evening was the identical jersey that Roger wore to Dodger Stadium three-and-a-half many years prior. Christopher, Elijah and Roger had been simply joyful to see a win that evening in San Diego. McCutchen’s gesture turned an incredible evening into an unforgettable one.

“So many feelings had been going by means of my head,” Christopher mentioned. “I really like the Pirates, so I used to be joyful that we received. To high it off, I see Andrew McCutchen working as much as us. He gave us the gloves. I’m the one that claims, ‘I really like you, man,’ within the yellow jersey. I used to be very, very emotional. It was an incredible second. I beloved it and I’ll always remember it.”

“I keep in mind I used to be throwing my fist up,” Elijah mentioned. “We had been attempting to get the Jolly Roger up. I keep in mind a San Diego fan tapped us and we rotated and we see [McCutchen] working in the direction of us. … We had been cheering the remainder of the evening. I couldn’t fall asleep that evening.”

Roger remembers that after the clip went viral, Elijah started insisting that he was a star and that he would want safety.

“I don’t know what individuals would need from him, however that’s what I keep in mind from it,” Roger mentioned.

The McCrearys deliberate on making their first journey to Pittsburgh to satisfy with McCutchen throughout his first stint with the crew, however these plans had been shelved when the Pirates traded him to the Giants. However the household’s respect for McCutchen didn’t fade as he wore completely different colours. When the Giants got here to Los Angeles, Christopher, Elijah and Roger made a visit to Dodger Stadium, carrying Pirates jerseys and Giants hats. When McCutchen re-signed with the Pirates this offseason, all of the reminiscences got here flooding again.

“I’m a diehard Pirate fan, however I’m undoubtedly a diehard Cutch fan,” Christopher mentioned. “Through the years when he was gone, I stored up with him. Most likely the one different participant that’s not a Pirate that I stored up with actually heavy. When he got here again, I used to be so excited. I used to be actually joyful. I knew the very first thing individuals had been going to say was, ‘Oh, it is a farewell tour.’ I believed in my thoughts, ‘This isn’t a farewell tour. He’s going to assist this ballclub win.’ Certain sufficient, the subsequent day, he mentioned it’s not a farewell tour. … It actually meant so much to me. It confirmed me who he’s as a participant and sort of proved every thing that I knew.”

Previous to the Pirates arriving in Los Angeles this time round, Roger acquired in touch with AT&T SportsNet’s Robby Incmikoski, who had helped coordinate the McCreary household’s journey to Pittsburgh earlier than plans fell by means of. Roger requested if it might be doable to reunite with McCutchen. Incmikoski did the household one higher.

“You don’t understand the affect you possibly can have on individuals simply by one thing small that doesn’t look like a lot to you,” McCutchen mentioned. “Having the ability to understand what which will have executed for them within the second and possibly for them sooner or later, it’s actually cool.”