Cutch 2012

Superstar

As every Pirates fan and virtually every baseball fan now knows, the Pirates collapsed at the end of the 2012 season for the second year in a row.  The collapse was spectacular, epic, and cruel.  As late as August, there was legitimate playoff hope.  A winning season was all but guaranteed.  Then it all fell apart.  The Pirates - once 16 games over .500 - finished the season at 79-83.

Lost in the shuffle somewhat was what it did to Andrew McCutchen.  It's hard to say McCutchen collapsed - his numbers in August weren't awful and his numbers in September were well above-average - but he did lose an MVP.  Had he done slightly better in August and had the Pirates made the playoff, "Cutch" would have almost assuredly won the MVP award.  Unfortunately, that did not happen.

Despite that, McCutchen had a phenomenal season by any standards.  In 2012, McCutchen went from budding superstar to one of the best players in the planet.  Such a great season deserves a breakdown.