Andrew McCutchen will be missed off the field, too

On the heels of the Gerrit Cole trade, I was distressed to learn that the Pirates had traded Andrew McCutchen (Jan. 16, “A Giant Loss: McCutchen Is Headed to San Francisco”). Not only has Andrew been a Most Valuable Player and five times an All Star, but for the past nine years, he has been the heart of the Pirates franchise.

In addition, he has become a committed citizen who has made extraordinary contributions to the community of Pittsburgh. When 412 Food Rescue needed a way to bring food from restaurants to shelters and food banks, Andrew bought a delivery van and provided funds for its operation. Two other benefactors of his generosity are Make-A-Wish Foundation and Children’s Hospital. He and his wife, Maria, began visiting the hospital upon his arrival in Pittsburgh and continued regularly.

These humanitarian efforts reflect the very core of who Andrew McCutchen is. In receiving the Art Rooney Award and the Clemente Award, he said that he took more pride in receiving these awards than the 2013 National League MVP. He wants his legacy to be not only that he performed well, but that he helped those who could not help themselves. Clearly, his contributions to our city have spoken even louder than his words.

The city of Pittsburgh has lost not only an all-star player, but has lost an all-star citizen. For that, I say to Pirates owner Bob Nutting, shame on you. By the way, I’ve been a loyal Pirates fan since the 1950s. SISTER PATRICE HUGHES

Brookline Western Pennsylvania. We cannot believe everything said by any candidate even on something so mundane as the weather at the time of a speech. I need to know the Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth. DIANE YUHAS Castle Shannon

Well, I suppose the Trumpets have reason to blare since the economy is doing well. Of course they seem to believe that such a complex system turns on a dime and real growth only occurred once President Barack Obama left office.

They refuse to give him any credit. They refuse to acknowledge that unemployment dropped from a high of 10 percent in October 2009 to 4.8 percent when he left office. They refuse to acknowledge that the Dow Jones industrial average was 7,949 when he was inaugurated and almost 20,000 when he departed.

I suppose I could give credit to the Trumpers for the past year of economic growth if only they will take credit once unemployment starts increasing, the stock market has a correction or, even worse, a recession occurs. But then those statistics would be useless as that would

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not comport to their version of reality.

And like a good corporate citizen, President Donald Trump sucks the vortex of good news and is first to point the finger when things go wrong. MARTY JOYCE Whitehall