Pittsburg, PA
Pirates Star Was Nearly Two-Sport Athlete In College
Life nearly took a very different turn for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Andrew McCutchen.
McCutchen went on Mookie Betts’ podcast on Bleacher Report, On Base With Mookie Betts. In the episode, the Pirates star revealed that he had an offer from the University of Miami to play football and baseball on a full-ride scholarship. McCutchen said he hadn’t played football since his sophomore season after he suffered a torn ACL in his sophomore year of high school playing the sport.
McCutchen said he considered the offer from Miami but eventually decided to stick with baseball knowing that was a strong chance he’d be drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft. That eventually came to fruition when the Pirates drafted him with the No. 11 overall pick in the first round of the 2005 MLB Draft out of Fort Meade High School in FL.
“I get a phone call from the head coach for our high school football team,” McCutchen said. “He calls me [and] he goes, ‘Hey, congratulations. Miami called [and] they want to give you an offer. They want to offer you. I’m like, ‘What?’ [He said] they you want to give a full ride to play football. And I sat there and I’m like I ain’t played football in two years. I was kind of in shock, and I was like, ‘Nah, man, I’m getting drafted.’”
Had McCutchen not been taken in the first round of the MLB Draft, he said he would have gone to college and likely would have tried to play football and baseball collegiately. McCutchen had signed a Letter of Intent to play at the University of Florida before he was drafted by Pittsburgh.
Drafting McCutchen has proven to be one of the Pirates’ best decisions in franchise history. McCutchen, 38, has amassed a 42.7 Wins Above Replacement and has batted .284/.375/.475 with 235 home runs and 818 RBIs over his 11 seasons in Pittsburgh. McCutchen ranks among the franchise’s all-time great players, ranking in the top 10 in Wins Above Replacement, games played, at-bats, home runs, RBIs, hits, doubles and total bases.
McCutchen is also a former MVP, five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger, Gold Glove winner, and winner of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award in 2015. The Pirates legend is set to return for a 12th season with the franchise after agreeing to a one-year, $5 million deal on Monday.
Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Regional Transit has started to install its ReadyFare vending machines as the agency prepares to roll out its new fare payment system.
PRT said it’s working to roll out its new ReadyFare system and has started to install the new machine at some of its light-rail stations.
The new machines recently were installed at PRT’s Gateway station in Downtown Pittsburgh.
PRT said that as it prepares to roll out the new system, current ConnectCard holders will receive a card in the mail with instructions on how to request a ReadyFare card.
The new ReadyFare cards will be able to be purchased at the new machines for $1.
PRT said that riders will be able to transfer any balances they have on a ConnectCard to the new ReadyFare cards using an online balance transfer form.
Pittsburg, PA
About 5 pounds of bees removed from Acrisure Stadium scaffolding ahead of Morgan Wallen concerts
Acrisure Stadium is buzzing with excitement ahead of the back-to-back Morgan Wallen concerts. Except it’s not the fans generating all the excitement — it’s about 5 pounds of honeybees.
The Fine Family Apiary in Monongahela said it was contacted on Wednesday about a swarm of bees clustered on the stage scaffolding. The apiary put the swarm in a “nuc box” and took them home before moving the bees into full-size equipment.
Owner Al Fine estimates the swarm weighed about 4 to 5 pounds and consisted of 12,000 to 15,000 bees. All said, it took less than two hours to get the job done.
Why do bees swarm?
Swarming is how honeybees propagate, Fine explained. According to Penn State Extension, during swarming, the queen and about half the workers leave their home to establish a new nest. The bees will form a temporary cluster, hanging out while scouts search the surrounding area for a more permanent home in hollow spaces like tree cavities or, occasionally, the walls of a home.
Swarms can stick around for several hours or days until they’re ready to move, Penn State Extension says. Meanwhile, the colony left behind is temporarily without a leader until a new queen is established.
With the swarm at Acrisure Stadium removed, Morgan Wallen’s show is ready to go on. The country music megastar will bring his I’m The Problem Tour to Pittsburgh on June 5 and June 6, along with multiple acts like Brooks & Dunn and Ella Langley.
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