Stats Geek: The swift and powerful greatness of Andrew McCutchen

Andrew McCutchen wrapped up Saturday night’s game against the Cardinals with a walk-off home run to center field. (Peter Diana/Post-Gazette)

They’re just numbers, but a baseball fan can see the long balls and the speed on the basepaths when shown a list of every player who has stolen at least 125 bases and hit at least 125 home runs since 2010.

Here’s that list in its entirety:

                                   HR    SB

Andrew McCutchen    128    126

Nine players have had more steals and 25 have hit more home runs, but none have matched both McCutchen’s speed and his power since his first full season began in 2010.

Let’s hasten to add that Mike Trout has 124 home runs and 111 steals, and Trout’s first full season didn’t come until 2012. Five years McCutchen’s junior, Trout has 1,125 fewer plate appearances.

Each of them is leading off for his league in tonight’s All-Star Game. This will be only the fourth game the two have played against each other, the others being a three-game series that the Pirates swept in Anaheim in late June 2013.

This is a rare treat, but expect Trout and McCutchen to be in many more of the same conversations for the rest of the decade and beyond.

• • •

Speaking of decades, here are the 10 players with the most hits since 2010: Miguel Cabrera, 1,063; Robinson Cano, 1,048; Adrian Gonzalez, 1,003; Adrian Beltre, 975; Adam Jones, 962; Andrew McCutchen, 954; Billy Butler, 950; Nick Markakis, 941; Starlin Castro, 930; Alexei Ramirez, 908.

McCutchen began the year eighth on that hits list, but he passed Butler and Hunter Pence, who has missed more than 60 games to injuries. So the odds of McCutchen being the fourth Pirate to lead a decade in hits have improved. Honus Wagner led the first decade of the 20th century, Paul Waner led the 1930s, and Roberto Clemente led the 1960s.

Sure, it’s an obscure stat, but is there anything purer than outhitting everyone around you for a decade? 

McCutchen, 28, is the second youngest to Castro, 25, in the top 10. Cabrera and Cano are both 32, Gonzalez 33, and Beltre, 36. Jones and Butler are 29, Markakis is 31 and Ramirez is 33.

Cabrera has to be the favorite, and he’s increased his lead on McCutchen so far this season by five hits. But McCutchen has gained on most of the others in the top 10. There’s still a strong chance of Pirate taking the hits crown in four decades out of 11.

Four for 11 -- that’s a .364 average, if you’re scoring decades at home.

• • •

All those hits got me wondering how unusual it is for a Pirate to have more than 1,000 hits in his first seven seasons. McCutchen debuted on June 4, 2009. 

Only 14 Pirates have managed it since 1876, and only four have more hits than McCutchen: Paul Waner, 1,452; Lloyd Waner, 1,312; Arky Vaughan, 1,231; Ginger Beaumont, 1,210; Andrew McCutchen, 1,078; Dick Groat, 1,072; Roberto Clemente, 1,062; Ralph Kiner, 1,057; Dave Parker, 1,044; Jason Kendall, 1,035; Bob Elliott, 1,014; Johnny Ray, 1,009; Jack Wilson, 1,004; and Gus Suhr, 1,004.

If Waner’s 1,452 looks ridiculous, that’s because it is. Nobody in baseball history lashed more hits in his first seven seasons until Ichiro Suzuki blew past Waner with 1,592 between 2001 and 2007.

• • •

McCutchen has 140 home runs and 148 stolen bases in his career. It’s easy to believe he’ll have at least 150 of each by season’s end. How many players have gotten to 150/150 in their first seven seasons?

Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds, Barry Bonds, Matt Kemp, Alfonso Soriano, Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis are the only seven. McCutchen and Trout should make two more.

We could play around with numbers like this all day but it’s way more fun watching McCutchen add to his tally when it counts. The homers, hits and steals come one at a time. The cheers don’t.