Andrew McCutchen on Being Inspired by Young Fans

Hi Guideposts, I’m Andrew McCutchen, and I play for the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

[MUSIC PLAYING] 

I go to the Children’s Hospital quite a bit. I try and make it there to be able to talk to some of the kids, see them. I’m just giving them some encouraging words for the most part. And a lot of times, what happens is I leave there being encouraged by them. So that’s always awesome. And on one specific day, I went and I met a kid there by the name of Matt. And he was a really cool kid just to talk to. 

He had some things that he was going through physically. Didn’t know if he was going to be able to play the game again, play baseball, and be active out there. I gave him just some encouraging words and he encouraged me as well. And then I left from there and the next thing you know, I get a letter from him and a ball. 

And basically, he said he’s back playing, he’s feeling better, and he’s playing baseball again. And the ball that he sent me was one of his home run balls that he’d– the one of three homers he hit in that tournament that he played in. 

So he wanted to just send me one and basically thanked me for meeting him and talking to him and giving him some encouragement. And I thought that was really awesome. You just never know what difference you can make on these kids’ lives just by giving them a pat on the back or just giving them a smile. 

And it was awesome just to get that ball and I still have it. And it’s just a reminder to myself that getting over myself and just serving. That’s what we’re here to do, and it’s just a really good feeling. 

[MUSIC PLAYING]