Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter Andrew McCutchen Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

When the Furries arrive in Pittsburgh, Andrew McCutchen dominates

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 7/1/23

Perhaps the weirdest sub-plot to any career in Major League Baseball involves Pittsburgh Pirates star Andrew McCutchen and the yearly arrival of the Furries.

If you are unfamiliar, Furries are described as individuals who are especially interested in anthropomorphic or cartoon animals and dress up as them.

Anthrocon, one of the largest Furry conventions in the world, takes up residence in the city of Pittsburgh every year and it has always seemed to coincide with a dominant run by McCutchen. That continued on Friday night when Anthrocon 2023 kicked off in Pittsburgh.

McCutchen collected three hits, including a solo home run and an RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning to help lead the Pirates to an 8-7 come-from-behind win against the Milwaukee Brewers.

McCutchen and the Furries was naturally a talking point after the game.

Andrew McCutchen on … furries. Yep, furries. pic.twitter.com/PwvaLfWguW
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) July 1, 2023

Obviously, he is very aware of the connection and has taken to simply tweeting "Furries" every time he is in the general vicinity of them.

Furries
— Andrew McCutchen (@TheCUTCH22) June 29, 2023

This is not just some random talking point, either. Numbers have actually been compiled on this, and they are staggering.

Prior to Thursday, he had hit .419 with a .479 on-base percentage in 15 games "in the vicinity" of the Furries.

Those numbers only went up over the past two games.

Realistically speaking, this is all just a coincidence. McCutchen has been a great player for his entire career and over any random sampling of games is going to have hot streaks like this. But the fact he consistently does it during these conventions makes it an absolutely hilarious coincidence. Especially when he is in on the joke.

More must-reads: