USC Welcomes Andrew McCutchen for Baseball Camp

Pick a player to host a baseball instructional camp while he’s having a MVP-caliber season, and the results are predictable.

“We’ve done camps for 14 years, and we can probably count on two hands the ones that sell out in the first year, let alone in the first week and having a waiting list,” said Gregg Darbyshire, chief executive of ProCamps Worldwide.

His organization brought Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen to Upper St. Clair Friday for event that can be described only as popular, what with the maximum number of participants and hundreds of observers on hand.

McCutchen joined ProCamp coaches in providing about three hours’ worth of instruction for youngsters starting at age 5.

Some special treats were in store for the kids. Each received an Andrew McCutchen autograph – he dutifully signed them while sitting near home plate on one of the fields at Boyce Mayview Park – and the campers also had an opportunity to the Pirates All-Star some questions.

He seemed to enjoy the festivities, even showing off his dancing skills to the youngsters as they gathered following the instructional sessions.

“When you meet him, that’s the type of person he is,” Darbyshire said. “You understand why here’s here during the season giving back to these kids.”

Going into the camp, McCutchen was leading the National League with a .369 batting average, .621 slugging percentage and a host of other statistically esoteric categories. The consensus around the league is that if the season were to end today, he’d be the Most Valuable Player.

He doesn’t mind sharing his baseball knowledge with a younger generation.

“I can remember when I was young and I had an older guy give me advice, and it took me a long way,” he said.

McCutchen wants the kids to remember: This is a game of fun.

“I think they already know that,” he said. “It doesn’t change when you get older. It may get a little more competitive, but for the most part, it’s still fun. It’s still enjoyable, and you play this game because you love it.”

Some folks love baseball enough, and the Pirates and McCutchen in particular, to travel a great distance for Friday’s camp. At least three participants came from the West Coast, including Nikolai Voron, a 12-year-old left-handed pitcher and outfielder from Sacramento, CA.

“My son is a big McCutchen fan,” said his father, Nick, a North Huntingdon native. “So we do a lot of research on the Internet and websites, and before you know it, Andrew McCutchen, we saw he had a baseball camp.

“And we were really excited it was during the season. So we planned a vacation around it, to see the Pirates play and to go to McCutchen’s camp. He thought that was awesome.”

ProCamps has presented instructional camps in the Pittsburgh area for the past five years, featuring the likes of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and head coach Mike Tomlin. Friday’s event was made possible by a host of business partners, including nearby restaurant Ardolino’s Pizza, which provided noontime snacks for the participants.

By that time, everyone had learned a bit more about baseball, thanks to Andrew McCutchen.

“You watch him over here teaching,” Darbyshire said “He’s a student of the game, has a passion for the game, and that stuff is contagious.”