Longtime MLB utilityman Charlie Culberson is attempting to make the Atlanta Braves roster as a pitcher, but his spring debut did not exactly start off on the right foot.
Culberson made his first MLB appearance as a pitcher in Saturday’s spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles. The very first batter he faced was Orioles minor leaguer Maverick Handley, who Culberson promptly hit in the head with what appeared to be a breaking ball that badly missed its target.
Things did not improve much for Culberson, as he walked the next batter before notching a strikeout. After that, the outing completely fell apart, as a walk, a double, and a sacrifice fly led to three runs scoring. Culberson was relieved with two outs, and just to twist the knife, the final baserunner he allowed wound up scoring later in the inning.
Culberson certainly was not trying to hit anyone. For one thing, he knows how it feels. If he has any hope of making the MLB club out of spring camp, though, he is going to have to show much better command than that.
Culberson has played 11 years in MLB and is a career .248 hitter with 30 home runs. While a number of pitchers were once position players, that change was usually made in the minors when they were very young, not on the back end of a lengthy MLB career. Culberson would be very unique if he were to succeed in his goal.
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