Andrew McCutchen Calls for Blackout Ahead of Pirates’ Home Opener

In what seems to be turning into a yearly tradition, Andrew McCutchen is urging fans to wear black for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ home opener against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday.

McCutchen, a social media savant, took to Twitter/X and politely requested fans attending Friday’s opener to dress in black.

‼️‼️ATTENTION PITTSBURGH ⚠️⚠️⚠️ pic.twitter.com/Jl9yLDcqQU

— Andrew McCutchen (@TheCUTCH22) April 5, 2024

For McCutchen’s return to the Pirates last season after spending five seasons with four other organizations, numerous Pirates-related personnel took to social media calling for a blackout. McCutchen helped in spearheading the efforts then, and he’s doing it once again.

Pirates’ fans did as they were told. 39,167 fans were in attendance for McCutchen’s return to the Pirates in last year’s home opener victory against the Chicago White Sox on Apr. 7. Most of the fans in attendance followed the rules of the blackout.

The Pirates say they are expecting a sellout for their 2024 home opener. The Bucs return from their seven-game road trip to begin the season with a 6-1 record, tied with the New York Yankees for the best record in baseball.

The Pirates first introduced the ‘blackout game’ for the 2013 National League Wild Card game. Over 40,000 fans wearing black jerseys, shirts and hats, cheered the Pirates on to their first playoff victory since 1992.