From the Collection: Andrew McCutchen 2012 Allen and Ginter

When this card came out in 2012 it was one of the more popular cards in the set. And with good reason! By the end of 2012, Andrew McCutchen was already a two-time All-Star, Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner. He ended the 2012 season 3rd in MVP voting. And he was only 25! I was not alone in thinking that he was on a Hall of Fame career trajectory. I went hard after this card and paid $30 on the nose. I thought I got a good deal.

I was also a big fan. In 2006, after a rough night shift at work, I bought myself a McDonalds breakfast and a couple packs of Bowman Heritage cards in an effort to unwind. I pulled his autograph out of one of the packs. The first autograph I ever pulled from a pack of cards. It was exciting. And I decided right there I was going to follow his career to the bitter end.

McCutchen had a couple more amazing seasons in the tank–especially 2013 when he was the National League MVP. But he crashed hard in 2016 and even though he had decent bounce-back years in 2017 and 2018…his best days were behind him.

He was 31 in 2018 and still had a pretty OK season: .255/.368/.424 with 20 HR–good for an OPS+ of 118. He is nowhere near a Gold Glove defender anymore, but if you stick him in a corner outfield spot he won’t kill you.

He is a free agent right now. I would not mind seeing the Indians take a flier on him…but with his history, I doubt they can afford him.