Charlie Culberson, a former Atlanta Braves player, has retired from baseball.
He shared his decision-making process in a recent interview.
Charlie Culberson, a former Atlanta Braves utilityman turned bullpen pitcher, announced his retirement from baseball on his Instagram page Thursday. Culberson is well-known for his Dansby Swanson looks and his ability to provide stability in the Atlanta clubhouse. Culberson’s career stats do not indicate that he had a significant on-field influence, but his value to the Braves cannot be assessed in terms of hits, home runs, batting average, or RBIs.
Nonetheless, the Braves could no longer justify retaining Culberson on the active roster due to his terrible plate presence. This forced the 35-year-old to take a good look in the mirror and change his approach completely. Culberson changed positions late in his career, pitching for the Braves in spring training before moving on to Gwinnett.
Former Braves player Charlie Culberson retires from baseball with no regrets
As motivating as Culberson’s desire to remain relevant in the major leagues was, reality eventually prevailed, forcing Atlanta to release him. This is when Culberson realized his career was coming to an end.
“Once I made that switch to (pitching) and then the Braves were like, ‘Hey it’s not gonna work out,’ I told myself, ‘I’m done working out and trying to continue to play,’” Culberson said, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “And I was fine with it. It took a little while to get over the fact of, I guess people not believing in me as a player anymore. But after a while, that kind of fades away and I realized that I’m where I need to be. Looking back on my career, it was like, ‘Hey, I tried my best, so I’m good with it.’”
To be fair to the Braves, they never made Culberson any promises. As recently as March, Brian Snitker made it clear that Culberson wouldn’t get any special treatment.
“We’ll see where it takes him,” Snitker said, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He likes to play baseball, whatever position. We wish him the best. Charlie has been a big part of this, had success here. He’s just a wonderful guy. If he wants to do that, I’m happy he’s getting the opportunity.”
Unfortunately for Culberson, it didn’t take him far. The 11-year MLB veteran hasn’t played in the majors this season, and appeared in just one game in 2023. It’s been a long time since he received regular playing time, and as inspiring as his late-career change was, his chances of making the MLB roster as a pitcher were always slim.
Now, Culberson has made that failed venture official.
