BRADENTON, FLA. � Playing baseball in Florida is nothing new to Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen.



The Fort Meade, Fla. native has been doing that practically all his life.



But the rest of what comes along with being the face of baseball on Pittsburgh and one of the faces of all of major league baseball, well, very little can prepare anyone for that.



�Baseball is baseball, it�s the same everywhere,� McCutchen said in the Pirates spring training clubhouse. �I come from a small town about an hour from here (Bradenton) - really small, cow pastures on all four quadrants.



�As a kid, when you saw people on television, they were famous � in a positive way, not Cops or something like that. I thought that if you wanted to make something of yourself, you got yourself on television.



�That�s what I�ve got here now. It�s everything I wanted and more, but it took an adjustment.�



That adjustment started early in his baseball career � even before his face became recognizable all over Pittsburgh and, for that matter, the country, after his marriage proposal on national television � �Ellen.� It began as soon shortly after he was drafted in the first round by the Pirates in 2005.



�I was a southern boy � taught to say please, thank you, sir, and ma�am � and respect other people and their privacy,� McCutchen said. �When I came up north, it was an adjustment. People are still polite, but in a different way and I�ve adjusted.



�Everyone is pretty good around Pittsburgh, respecting my privacy when I�m out, but I usually just spend time around my house.�



When he does get to Pittsburgh, though, his home is PNC Park as much as where he lays his head. He�s adjusted there, too � once the new young star, he�s now the veteran � the model the younger players watch.



Friday, Josh Bell was reassigned to minor league camp. He knew it was going to happen, it wasn�t really a demotion, but it is still never welcome news. After a few minutes besides McCutchen at his locker, Bell seemed to be over the shock.



Another player reassigned, Gift Ngoepe, also listed talking with Andrew first on his list of what he learned in major league camp.



�Speaking to Cutch about his approach was the big thing I learned,� said Ngoepe, a shortstop from South Africa. �The mental game is the big thing.�



McCutchen already has learned that mental game � a steady stream of reporters at his locker is a standard. This spring, he�s happy to not hear questions about his health � his knee nagged him last spring although he didn�t miss time , and his manager is glad they�re not being asked.



�It�s absolutely good to see what he�s doing this year,� said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. �If you look at his numbers last year, he had a good spring.



�But he didn�t look real good, you didn�t (see) the strength and running. That is great to see this spring, that he is geared up to go at first base and getting the breaks he has in the outfield.�



McCutchen�s improved health this spring has not shown in his speed. Of his six spring training hits, three have left the park. It hasn�t been an area of concentration, it has just happened.



�I know what I need to work on to get ready,� McCutchen said. �They call it spring training for a reason.



�It�s just a matter of going out and doing it to get ready.�



This season, the Pirates are getting ready to not just open their season but all of major league baseball, hosting St. Louis on April 3 at 1 p.m. in the first game of everyone�s season on national television.



�Who would have thought five years ago, that we�d be the first game of the season,� McCutchen said.