"What a treasure!" "Class personified!" - Fans tip the cap to Andrew McCutchen after showing up to the stadium in a signed Willie Mays jersey
With the recent passing of Willie Mays, much of the baseball world has shown their respect for the MLB legend, including Andrew McCutchen. He has spoken at great lengths about what Mays meant to him during his professional career.
Very few baseball players have encaptured multiple generations like Mays has, but it goes to show how great he was both on and off the field. The five-time All-Star was spotted rocking a signed Mays jersey ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Mays was a player that McCutchen looked up to and had many conversations with during his career. The baseball world certainly lost a good one earlier this week.
Much of the baseball world deeply respects McCutchen, but this takes it to a whole new level. Fans took to social media to show their appreciation for the veteran keeping the legend's name alive.
"What a treasure!" - one fan posted.
"Class personified!" - posted another.
"Cutch is a real one" - posted another.
Showing up to the stadium in a signed jersey is a complete flex. That jersey would fetch quite a pretty penny if put on an auction block.
"Love to see it" - said another fan.
"Reds fan here. Cutch has been one of my favorite players forever. It’s for stuff like this. Need more guys like him and Votto to grow the game" - said another.
"Jersey is aces. Class" - said another.
Even fans of division rivals like the Cincinnati Reds cannot deny that McCutchen is great for the game.
Andrew McCutchen was starstruck by Willie Mays
In 2018, Andrew McCutchen was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the San Francisco Giants. While it was a huge change for the veteran, it brought the opportunity to meet with Willie Mays.
He recalled that anytime he got the chance to bend Mays' ear, he would. He would be so locked into their conversation because he wanted to soak up all the wisdom he had been getting.
After hearing of his passing, McCutchen was devastated. However, Willie Mays will forever be remembered as one of the greatest, both on and off the field. He was one of the few true five-tool players that motivated multiple generations of players to be like him.