"I was real happy that I got it over with" - Andrew McCutchen claims relief over finally blasting 300th career homer
Andrew McCutchen finally knocked his 300th career home run recently. The slugger had been stuck on 299 for some time, even dating back to the 2023 regular season. Finally, he got a pitch he could deposit into the seats and crossed yet another milestone for his storied career.
After doing so, McCutchen claims he was more relieved than anything:
"Initial reaction was, 'Oh, awesome. That ball's out of here now I don't have to think about it.' I was real happy that I got it over with. One, I didn't have to talk about it as much. Two, I didn't have to ponder and think about when it was going to happen because I've been sitting on it since last season. Three, I can just move on and focus on the game of baseball. I was happy I could get it out of the way."
The Pittsburgh Pirates legend made history in plenty of ways with that blast, but it was more a relief to have finally passed the number than anything else. Evidently, he had been worried about it for all the time it hadn't happened, and now that it has, he can continue playing his game.
Andrew McCutchen, Pirates off to good start
The NL Central is known as a weaker division, and that usually makes it wide open every year. Thus, a team like the Pittsburgh Pirates who wasn't really in it last year can turn things around pretty quickly.
Thus far, that seems to be what they've done. The Pirates have been mediocre for several years, but they're right in the thick of it this time. The division seems more open than ever before, and right now, Pittsburgh trails the Milwaukee Brewers by only percentage points for first place.
It's worth noting that it's early and that it's still very tight. Even the last-place St. Louis Cardinals are two games out, so things can and will change quickly. Nevertheless, Pittsburgh, thanks to Andrew McCutchen and others, is off to a very good start to the 2024 season as they aim to end their postseason drought.