Charlie Culberson

Charlie Culberson

RP -
Height: 6-1
Weight: 200 lbs
Age: 34
College:

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The ScoreA year like no other: Prospects on what was lost - and gained - in disrupted 2020

TORONTO - Hunter Brown didn't anticipate his first spring of professional baseball looking like it did.But you can't blame him for not predicting a global pandemic would disrupt the early years of his career - and life as we all knew it. After MLB announced March 12, 2020, that spring training was suspended due to the spread of COVID-19, Brown, then an up-and-coming prospect with the Houston Astros, ended up in a cabin in Northern Michigan, building a makeshift pitching apparatus to keep his arm - and his mind - sharp."I went up there with my dad and I just kind of built this snow fence," Brown told theScore. "We wrapped it around two poles and spray painted the strike zone. We triple plied it so the ball couldn't go through. My dad would just kind of stand there. I'd throw a pitch, he'd pick it up, throw it back to me because he couldn't catch it, obviously."Brown was in minor-league camp in Florida when the shutdown hit. Uncertain of what to do next, he got in his car and drove 20-plus hours back to Michigan. "I wasn't gonna hop on a plane."The drive home for so many young players felt the same. The destinations were different, and nobody had answers to the questions everyone was asking."It was like one day, 'Hey, there's no virus out.' Then the second day it was, 'Hey, don't shake fans' hands.' And the third day, NCAA canceled its season, we canceled our season, everyone goes home. So, I drove up with my parents to Rhode Island," Astros shortstop Jeremy Pe a recalled."Everybody got sent home and nobody knew what to do, how we were gonna get paid, or what we're going to do for the season," Atlanta Braves outfielder Michael Harris said.Brown remembers the questions on the drive: "Are we gonna be back in two weeks? Are we gonna be back in two months? Are we gonna be back in two years?"Unequal challenges Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox / Getty Images Sport / GettyLike millions stuck at home due to COVID-19, Brown tried to make the best of an unprecedented situation. Without state-of-the-art gym equipment at his disposal, he MacGyver'd his own weights using what was around the property."I didn't buy workout equipment," Brown said. "We had these old grindstones - it was actually perfect. They had a hole in the center, I don't know how much it weighed, but I slapped a couple on a bar, made some hooks for this little squat rack, and just kind of benched it."Sounds safe, right?Others, like Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm, stayed in Florida so he could at least enjoy the weather."I had a place in Clearwater, (Florida), so I was just hanging out there," Bohm said. "I was using the little gym they had at my building. I was doing a lot of running out on the beach."I ended up losing a little bit of weight - I was down 10-15 pounds. You know, we were coming to the field every day and we get fed two-to-three meals here."With teams scrambling to find answers to endless questions, the first priority was obvious: make sure everyone's safe. After that, teams began ensuring players were able to at least stay in shape. But with members of the organization scattered across North America, all with individual needs and limitations, and global supply chains severely disrupted, even something as simple as working out proved more problematic than anticipated."I think the biggest challenge we had when thinking about those players were the massive range of different resources they had. There were guys that had none," Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro told theScore. "There were guys that were stuck in a room, and so we were sending out (workout) bands trying to get some ability to get some work. 'Here's a band workout you can do, here's a workout you can do against a wall, here's a workout you can do into a screen or a backstop,' and trying to be creative as best we could."We would try to communicate, 'What do you have? What's accessible?' What facilities and resources are in place so they could still get workouts in. But we had one set of guys that had nothing. That was the other end of the spectrum, just trying to do the best we could, but it was a disparate set of resources. The challenge was not equal for everyone." Steve Russell / Toronto Star / GettyAs 2020 progressed, summer arrived, and with it better and warmer weather, and society began to reopen. Restrictions varied by jurisdiction, but players were able to meet in small groups, expand their workouts, and do on-field drills."There's a university near me where I could go hit - it was an outdoor cage," Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh said."I felt like I had a perfect setup, because everyone pretty much left Maine," Pe a said. "We still had the field, we had a cage, machines, we had a weight room. I had everything I needed to get better."With players settling into their new reality, work continued behind the scenes. On June 23, 2020, MLB announced its return: A 60-game season, without fans in attendance, and with COVID-19 testing taking place every other day. Non-playing personnel were required to wear masks in the dugout, while high-fives, fist bumps, and spitting were among a long list of no-nos.Big leaguers were getting set to return. Meanwhile, minor leaguers learned what the announcement meant for them: their season was canceled. "We thought it would just be a couple days and we'd be back," Milwaukee Brewers infielder Brice Turang told theScore, "but it turned into the whole year."Alt site 'a blessing' Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyWith the 2020 minor-league season canceled, MLB clubs worked on ensuring some of their prospects wouldn't go a full summer without structured baseball.Teams invited 60 players to spring training 2.0. Those not included on the club's playing roster were allowed to work out at what was called the "alternate site": A minor-league field or nearby college where players scrimmaged and participated in other drills."The alt site was: Okay, this is our circumstances and situation, what does an optimal development environment look like there?" Shapiro said. "How can we take advantage of the fact they're not playing games, that they're largely just in a scrimmage environment? What are the advantages? What are the disadvantages? And trying to maximize development to whatever situation we have."The alternate site was born out of necessity, and players said it was a relaxed, pressure-free environment. Sometimes there weren't enough players, so coaches had to fill in defensively. While the circumstances weren't ideal, it was at the very least a safe space - not only from COVID-19, but from expectations. And, looking back, that lack of expectations was something special for some of those attending young players."It was kind of unfortunate, but at the same time, it was a blessing that they had the alternate site," Harris said.Harris was only 19 when he was at the alt site and believes he benefited immensely from being around MLB veterans like Charlie Culberson and Nick Markakis. For Harris, a summer around those guys was better for his development than a traditional season."I think I learned a lot more from having that than an actual season," Harris said. "Just being around some other guys that were veterans in the league and facing some pitchers that are tough. Facing those type of guys, learning from other players and their routines, and seeing how they go about their business while I was still that young - it was right after my first half-season. I feel it was better than having a minor-league season."Harris was the 2022 NL Rookie of the Year and finished 13th in NL MVP voting two years after his time at the alt site. Raleigh echoed Harris."It sucks when you're losing a whole year, you're kinda disappointed," he said. "You just want to go play a regular normal season. But it kind of turned when I got invited to the spring training 2.0. At least you were doing something. It kind of took your mind off things. At the time, you just want to make the big leagues and you get invited to the alt site, so you're like, 'Oh, I have a chance.' So obviously, you're just grateful for whatever you could do. It was the best option."Turang had a similar experience at the Brewers' alt site. Having time in camp with veteran players - without the pressure of trying to make the team - was integral for the then 20-year-old with only 129 games of pro experience."That was the first time we were really around (big leaguers). Being able to talk to them and understanding what they do, that was the most beneficial part to me," Turang recalled. "There's a lot of guys there that had service time, and they can help you. I enjoyed being around those guys."Some guys didn't go to the alt site. (They) didn't play the whole year. And so I mean, I don't know what those guys really did."Brown was one of those guys. The Astros told him he wouldn't be at the alt site because it was for players who were closer to the majors. Brown was selected in the fifth round in 2019 and only had 23 innings of pro experience. But the alt site news actually came as a relief to the right-hander. It presented a rare opportunity to have a portion of a summer off, and also served as a chance to challenge himself to improve."They told me I wasn't gonna go, which I was kind of fired up about in a sense because maybe I'll get a summer here," Brown recalled.Brown's friend owned a Rapsodo - a piece of baseball tech that measures spin - and he started using it once a week. He got a dog named Whiskey, and spent the weekends relaxing at the lake. Brown kept in touch with Houston's bullpen coach and sent Rapsodo data to the team for feedback after each throwing session."I was able to send some numbers to them and see like, 'Hey, this is looking good, or you need more break on this,'" Brown said.Brown worked on developing his pitches - without the pressures of trying to prove himself throughout the minors. He'd begun tinkering with a curveball in 2019 and was able to start refining it during his summer off."It was definitely weird, but it was probably the best thing at the time for me to just solely focus on actually developing pitches," Brown said. "It was kind of nice to not have to worry about results."Brown opened the 2021 minor-league season in Double-A before a promotion to Triple-A. He made his MLB debut in 2022 as a September call-up, and was a regular in the Astros' rotation last season. He'll open 2024 as Houston's No. 3 starter. Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyBrown isn't the only one who saw positives in time away from the stresses of competition."Wins and losses didn't matter," Bohm said of the alt site. "Development wise, it was important. You'd hit every inning, and it was very easy to go up there and be like, 'Alright, I'm gonna try this feel and try this.' You can actually go work on stuff, but you couldn't do that in a minor-league game - you can't really waste an at-bat there."Shapiro's seen almost everything in baseball - he's been around MLB since joining Cleveland in 1991 - but nothing prepared him for 2020. As the Blue Jays attempted to find a temporary home for the season - travel restrictions prevented the club from playing in Canada - Shapiro and his staff also had to figure out a way to not leave minor leaguers behind. Without games to play, the organization asked players to experiment, something they aren't truly able to do in normal circumstances."I know for a fact we were doing things with pitching that we just couldn't normally have done, like asking guys to consider changes, new pitches, just things that would have been tough to ask guys to do during a season," Shapiro said. "Players are more willing to reflect and consider change when they're not worried about stats."I think the challenge that exists during a season will never change. As much as you want guys to continue to develop and make adjustments, there's always a balance between being uncomfortable and feeling the need to perform, so you have to also be thoughtful of the adjustments you're asking the players to make."'Everything kind of felt like it sped up in 2021'Bohm made his major-league debut Aug. 13, 2020, in Philadelphia in front of cardboard fans. His parents weren't allowed to make the trip. Attendance that day at Citizens Bank Park is officially listed as "not given.""They didn't get to come watch any games," Bohm said of his family. "They didn't even get to come out (to visit). I was staying in the hotel right next to the stadium. It was very inconvenient."Bohm was the third overall pick in 2018 and advanced as high as Double-A in 2019. He attended the alternate site in 2020 only briefly - the Phillies needed help and called him up to make his debut at 23 years old.The alternate site was very "laid back (and) comfortable," Bohm said, and he benefited from that atmosphere. He played with freedom during the COVID season, hitting .338/.400/.481 over 44 games and finishing second in NL Rookie of the Year voting. He hit his first home run at Truist Park in Atlanta: B HM#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/nVdgd7xGH0 Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 23, 2020 Baseball was back to normal in 2021. The league played a full 162-game season, travel resumed, and fans were back at the ballpark. For Bohm, all those factors made things look and feel a lot different."It was a big change of pace in 2021," he said. "It was kind of different everywhere you went, but for the most part, (stadiums were) about half capacity. I remember we had a weekend series in L.A. - against the Dodgers - and that was their first series being back at full capacity. It was three night games. It was loud. It was cool."Bohm struggled as a sophomore, posting a .647 OPS across 115 games."That was a little bit of an adjustment. Just like the speed of everything, (it) kind of felt like it sped up in 2021 a little bit," Bohm said. 'We had cardboard fans'It may be years before we know how much the COVID season truly affected minor leaguers' development. Honestly, we may never know. How do you measure unfulfilled potential? There's an argument to be made that some players who had success might not have had it without their alternate site experiences."I wasn't (with Philadelphia) that year so it's kind of hard for me to really relate to how all the decisions were made. I'm only seeing the end results of it, and we don't seem to notice," Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told theScore about any perceived lack of development. Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / GettyLike every prospect in every sport, there are so many variables that determine success and failure. Players that went to the alternate site spoke of its benefits, but time away from baseball clearly helped others."There was a wide range of the way people came back," Shapiro said. "There were guys who were out of shape when they came back, guys who we needed to be slower with bringing back into the fold. There were guys that were hurt more by the downtime, and guys that were not. "I haven't looked at it closely enough to know how directly it tied into the amount of access to resources. There were guys that benefited from the time off. There could have been guys who didn't do much and benefited."As much as an organization helps with player development, Shapiro believes a big part of the journey to the big leagues still falls on the player."You've got to partner in development with that player," Shapiro said. Looking back, there was a silver lining, and some benefits from the stoppage of the 2020 season. But one thing everyone agrees upon: Never again, hopefully."They had cardboard fans," Pe a recalled with wonder. "We had cardboard fans of player's families."Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Source: The Score
Monday, Mar 25, 2024

ESPNCulberson strikes out with Braves in try to be P

Charlie Culberson's attempt to become a pitcher took a blow Saturday when he was released by the Braves. The 34-year-old has spent 11 years in the majors as a utility man.

Source: ESPN
Saturday, Mar 23, 2024


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