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What’s most valuable to Andrew McCutchen?

Fulfilling a lifelong dream of becoming one of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history.

“They say I’m valuable, that I have to prove it over and over again,” says McCutchen in a New Era online spot released today.

After leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to their first post-season appearance in 20 years and being named 2013 National League MVP, McCutchen was arguably the best player in baseball last season.

Again proving how valuable he is to his club, last Saturday McCutchen stroked a pair of homers—a game-tying bomb in the ninth inning and a game-winning shot in the 11th—to knock off the Cincinnati Reds.

Entering the All-Star Game break, McCutchen is the National League leader in hits (114), walks (58) and total bases (201). He also ranks first among MLB outfielders in batting average (.324), on-base percentage (.420) and doubles (28).

The two-time Silver Slugger’s numbers are up this season in nearly every offensive statistical category compared to the first half of his 2013 season.

Perhaps the most important statistic indicating a player’s value and MVP consideration is the vaunted measure of wins over replacement (WAR).

McCutchen’s WAR of 5.6 is tops in the National League in 2014.

With the Pirates in the middle of a tightly contested race for the lead in the NL Central Division, McCutchen is a sure bet to rise to the occasion and push his club to a second post-season appearance in as many seasons.