The collapse is complete, but PNC Park owes the Pittsburgh Pirates a standing ovation after tonight’s season finale.

Or at least one of them.

As the Buccos plummeted in August and September — eventually securing the franchise’s 20th straight losing season — so did the chances of Andrew McCutchen winning the National League Most Valuable Player award.

Despite the late slide, both as a team and individually, McCutchen is still the most fitting pick for NL MVP when considering the entire 162-game schedule and guidelines set by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The MVP ballot reads:

“Dear Voter:

There is no clear-cut definition of what Most Valuable means. It is up to the individual voter to decide who was the Most Valuable Player in each league to his team. The MVP need not come from a division winner or other playoff qualifier.

• Actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense.

• Number of games played.

• General character, disposition, loyalty and effort.”

By this criteria, it’s tough to make an argument against McCutchen.

My favorite statistic is baseball-reference.com’s Wins Above Replacement (WAR), which McCutchen has an NL-best 7.2, slightly ahead of fellow MVP candidates Ryan Braun (7.0) and Buster Posey (6.9).

Entering Tuesday, Braun has posted the most gaudy offensive numbers of the three — hitting .321 and slugging .601 with 41 homers, 11 RBIs and 30 stolen bases — but it seems safe to assume many voters will shun the reigning MVP because of a performance-enhancing drug controversy over the offseason.

Although I believe it’s wrong to punish a player for failing a test eventually overturned, voters are within their right to overlook Braun based on the “general character” benchmark.

Buster Posey has surfaced as the apparent front-runner, but owns the less impressive statistics — batting .336, slugging .546 with 23 homers, 101 RBIs and one stolen base.

McCutchen’s stellar offensive line — .329 average and .558 slugging with 31 homers, 95 RBIs and 20 stolen bases — is coupled by the fact he’s played in more games than his competitors, which the ballot lists as the second measure.

Most telling, though, is the No. 1 criteria — McCutchen’s inarguable value to his team.

In 154 games started, the Pirates went 78-76 with McCutchen in the lineup. In victories, he boasted a .407 average and with 57 extra-base hits. In defeats, he hit only .246 with 19 extra-base knocks.

Braun’s batting average dipped 98 points between wins and losses, while Posey’s dropped 91 points. Both are significant, but nowhere near as drastic as McCutchen’s 161-point differential.

Even more convincing, the Giants went 10-9 without Posey in the starting lineup, while the Brewers improbably managed a 7-2 record without Braun.

Pittsburgh, on the other hand, was lost without its star player, posting an 0-6 mark with McCutchen missing from the lineup card.

The Pirates went as far as McCutchen could carry them. Without him, the Bucs would have looked more like the Houston Astros than the St. Louis Cardinals.

Simply put, there wasn’t a player in the league who had a greater impact on his team’s fortunes than the Pittsburgh center fielder.

That sounds like an MVP to me.

Jason Orfao is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.