Who was Andrew McCutchen apologizing to behind home plate?
PHILADELPHIA — Andrew McCutchen crushed his former team on Sunday.
The former Phillie went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run against Jesús Luzardo. It was his first home run as a member of the Texas Rangers.
Now in his 18th major league season, McCutchen is on the short side of a DH platoon in Texas with Joc Pederson. He got the start on Sunday against the lefty Luzardo and saw the ball well.
McCutchen in the fourth got a 2-2 fastball in the middle of the plate and hit it just above the Wawa sign inside the fair pole in left field to put his team up 5-0. The pitch was Luzardo’s fastest of the day at 97.9 mph, but McCutchen was able to launch it at 105.7 mph. The ball landed in the same short corner in left field where Freddy Galvis hit a walk-off home run off Aroldis Chapman in 2013.
As he walked back to the visiting dugout on the third base side, McCutchen shrugged and apologized to someone seated behind home plate. He was not interacting with a random Phillies fan.
McCutchen was actually talking to a good friend named David Osokow.
“That’s my guy DaveO,” McCutchen said postgame. “Anyone from Philly knows who DaveO is.”
Who exactly is DaveO? He is an actor, internet personality and “celebrity middleman,” according to Google. He is friends with Eagles chief security officer “Big Dom” DiSandro and hangs out with celebrities across the sports and entertainment industry. McCutchen was apologizing to Osokow, who is a big Phillies fan, for beating his team.
“He was basically like, ‘Hey man, stop hurting us,'” McCutchen said. “And I said, ‘No dude, I can’t do that, I’m sorry.’ So when I hit the homer, he was looking right at me and I was like, ‘Dude, I’m not sorry.’ It was a good exchange between me and him.”
McCutchen spent three years in Philadelphia after signing a $50 million contract with the team in December 2018. He got off to a hot start in the first two months of 2019 before tearing his ACL in June. He returned for the shortened 2020 season and finished out his contract as the club’s starting left fielder in 2021. McCutchen batted .237 with 47 home runs, 143 RBIs and a .787 OPS in three seasons with the Phillies.
He is a still appreciated in Philadelphia, judging by the warm ovation he received from fans during pregame introductions on Opening Day. He was well liked as a Phillie and respected as one of the premier players in the game over the last two decades.
“I’ve always said I enjoyed my time while I was here even though we didn’t make it to the playoffs,” McCutchen said. “We had a shortened 2020 season and we were always on the cusp and right there, but we just never got there. But the fans were always very receptive. I feel like I got along well with them. It was nice to have that ovation.”
But as it always goes, cheers turn into boos when you’re doing something right as a visiting player. McCutchen enjoyed hearing them as he rounded the bases.
“I know at the end of the day, it’s all love,” McCutchen said.