Quick Facts
Biography
Charles Edward "Charlie" Culberson (born April 10, 1989) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also played in MLB for the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies.
Career
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants drafted Culberson in the first round (51st overall) in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft out of Calhoun High School in Calhoun, Georgia. They added him to the 40 man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft after the 2011 season, in which he batted .259 with 10 home runs and 56 runs batted in for the Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Double-A Eastern League. He was rated the seventh best second base prospect prior to the 2012 season.
After beginning the 2012 season with the Fresno Grizzlies of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, the Giants promoted Culberson to the big league club on May 13, 2012. He made his MLB debut that day and collected his first major league base hit against Arizona Diamondbacks starter Joe Saunders.
Colorado Rockies
On July 27, 2012, Culberson was traded to the Colorado Rockies for Marco Scutaro. He spent the rest of the 2012 season with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the Rockies' AAA affiliate, and continued to play for them in 2013. In 97 games for the Sky Sox, he hit .310/.338/.524 with 14 HR, 64 RBI and 8 3B.
On July 29, Culberson was recalled by the Rockies, replacing Jordan Pacheco. When Carlos González went on the disabled list, Culberson and Corey Dickerson entered a platoon situation in left field. On August 16, 2013, Culberson hit his first MLB home run off Wei-Yin Chen of the Baltimore Orioles. In 47 games with the Rockies, he hit .293/.317/.404 with 2 HR, 12 RBI and 5 SB.
On May 4, 2014, Culberson hit a pinch hit walk off two run homerun off New York Mets closer Kyle Farnsworth, giving the Rockies an 11–10 victory.
Culberson missed nearly the entire 2015 season with a back injury. After the season, he was granted free agency by the Rockies and signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Culberson was signed by the Dodgers in November 2015 and invited to spring training, where he impressed new Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. After an injury to Howie Kendrick opened a spot for him, Culberson made the Dodgers 2016 Opening Day roster. He was designated for assignment in July and optioned to the Oklahoma City Dodgers, then recalled a month later. Culberson ended the big club's final home game of the season with a walk-off home run against former Rockies teammate Boone Logan, clinching the Dodgers' fourth consecutive National League West division title. He played in 34 games for Los Angeles, hitting .284 and in 70 games for Oklahoma City, hitting .260. He had no hits in seven at-bats with two strikeouts in the 2016 National League Division Series. He was outrighted to the minors and removed from the 40-man roster on December 9, 2016.
Personal
Charlie Culberson's father, Charles Culberson, was the Giants 16th pick in the 1984 draft and played in their minor league system for five seasons, and his grandfather Leon Culberson played in the major leagues 1943–1948, primarily for the Boston Red Sox.
On August 15, 2015, Charlie Culberson was inducted into the Calhoun-Gordon County Sports Hall of Fame.