The number of position players pitching in major league games has gone up in recent years as teams try to save their bullpens when games are out of reach. Some players are more adept and take it more seriously than others, and one of those players is trying to make the change late in his career.
Veteran utilityman Charlie Culberson has played for six teams in his MLB career and is currently in the Atlanta Braves system. He didn’t get too much of a chance to play last year given how stacked the Braves roster was, so he’s looking to make an impact as a pitcher instead.
Culberson joined Rob Bradford on the Audacy original podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” and explained why he’s trying to make it as a pitcher after over a decade in the majors as a position player.
“I think things change for everybody’s career at some point, right? We obviously want to play as long as we can and see how things play out,” Culberson said (13:15 in player above). “This past year I was able to sign back with the Braves. I had a couple of stints with the big-league team here in Atlanta. Everybody knows the team is stacked and I had one plate appearance, played one time in a little over two months.
“So when they took me back off the roster and I went back to Gwinnett, I talked to Anthopoulos. I said ‘Hey, listen Alex, I understand the situation… What if I try to pitch? What if I go down to Gwinnett and work on pitching?’ And he’s like ‘Great, I like the idea. I’ve seen you throw. Yeah, sure, give it a shot.’”
Culberson has pitched in eight games in his major-league career, four with the Braves and four with the Rangers. He’s allowed one run on seven hits with three walks and one strikeout in seven-and-a-third innings.
The utilityman has played all over the diamond and sees a potential future on the mound.
“So for them, it’s no risk, I feel like, but for me, I feel like in my mind it’s a win-win,” Culberson continued. “I always knew at some point I wanted to try pitching and this was the time. I’m living at home, I’m able to drive to Gwinnett, those guys are going to be behind me.
“So I went on the development list in Gwinnett, which is just an extra list of a few players, and I took six weeks to work on it. I got into three games the last week of the season. I was able to do some cool things, spin the ball really well, get some swing and misses, strike some guys out.”
Culberson allowed two runs on six hits with just one walk and four strikeouts during his three Triple-A appearances. But it wasn’t all about the numbers, it was about how he felt.
“That sparked that interest. It was fun again for me, actually doing something new,” he said. “I’ve always had fun playing baseball but once you get to a certain point and you’re not playing and you can kind of see where your path is going, hey, I’m going to change things up a little bit. I’m going to try pitching.”
The veteran is confident that he can overcome any obstacle in his way, even becoming a pitcher at 34 years old.
“If all these other guys can do it – not knocking them –, but for me, with what I’ve been through in my career and the people that have helped me along the way, I know that this is just one of those other obstacles that I’m willing to take on,” Culberson said. “I think it’s just best for me as a baseball player to go all-in as a pitcher and if something happens and they say hey, we need you to go fill in at short or left or first or take an at-bat, it’s easier for me to do it that way. So here I am, I’ve been working out for the past three months. I’ve been throwing a lot, learning a lot, and it’s kind of sparked a new fun for me in baseball.”
Some players in Culberson’s shoes may see the writing on the wall and request a trade, focus on one part of their game, or accept their role. But he’s trying to do something that not many people have.
“If this goes pretty well and it’s something that I know I can do then I’m going to pursue it. If I go out there and I’m throwing 85 miles an hour, can’t throw a slider for a strike, everyone’s barrelling balls up on me, I’m walking guys, then I can say I tried,” he said. But it was better than that. So in my mind, I’m like I can do this.
“The Braves are going to give me another shot to go to spring training, and it’s like why not? I can show my kids that dad can go out there, do something different in baseball, overcome whatever it is, and then show other fans out there and other little kids that have looked up to me that you don’t have to be bubbled into this certain mold of you’re only this player. Let’s break out of that and show people that you can do other things.
“So I’m just trying to give myself a chance to continue because I know that I have more to give to baseball. When I’m done with baseball I’m sure baseball won’t miss me but I know that I will miss the game. But this has kind of, again, sparked a new fire and interest and challenge for me at a later age in my career, so that’s why I’m doing it.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Culberson fares on the mound in spring training and beyond. No matter what happens, the aspiring two-way player knows he’s going to give it everything he has.