Andrew McCutchen didn’t jump at the chance to participate in Monday’s Home Run Derby in Kansas City when Matt Kemp asked him to replace the injured Giancarlo Stanton.

He was actually talking himself out of it before his girlfriend talked him into it, explaining it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“You look at the guys who are in the Home Run Derby, and they’re guys who hit 40, 50 home runs,” said McCutchen, who hit a career-high 23 last season but has 18 so far this season. “They’re big guys. They’re guys that can drive the ball 500 feet. I’m not the person who’s going to hit a ball 500 feet. It’s just not going to happen. I can hit some home runs, just not that far. I never thought I’d be in a Home Run Derby. Ever.”

McCutchen’s former coach at Fort Meade High School (Fla.), Jon Spradlin, will throw for him. The Pirates’ center fielder still visits his old high school in the offseason and talks to the players, so when Spradlin texted him congratulations, McCutchen asked if he’d do the honors.

“We always used to talk about it in high school, like that would be kind of cool one day, just joking,” McCutchen said. “It’s pretty neat to get the opportunity to go out and have him there. Not only is it something pretty neat for me, but it’s going to be pretty neat for him, too.”

The two-time All-Star said he still gets nervous before every Pirates game, so he can only imagine how he’s going to feel before he steps in the batter’s box Monday.

“But at the same time, I can only imagine how my coach is going to feel when he goes out on the field and has to throw me BP in front of 40,000-plus fans,” McCutchen said. “I feel more nervous for him than myself because I’m putting him on the spot.”

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle told McCutchen to embrace the opportunity.

“There’s a lot of school of thought that it’ll wreck his swing. It won’t wreck his swing,” Hurdle said. “He’s a smart kid. (I told him) just go there, look for the ball up in the zone, put a good swing on it, and you’ll hit it out of the ballpark, just like you’ve done most of your career. It’s another opportunity for Pittsburgh to be represented — the organization, the fan base, really cool. Happy for him.”

McCutchen’s already received some advice from Kemp on what it’s going to be like. There’s the matter of getting used to not having a cage around, for one. There’s also the matter of having tens of thousands of fans waiting for him to knock one out of the park with every pitch.

“And the whole U.S. watching, that’s something else that’s a little different,” McCutchen said. “But I’m just going to have fun with it. Not too many people can say they’ve done it. I’ll be able to say that regardless of the results.”

This article was written by Channel 11's news exchange partners at TribLIVE.