Braves’ Charlie Culberson breaks silence on returning as a pitcher

Charlie Culberson is returning to the Atlanta Braves. The former position player is making his return as a pitcher, however. Culberson recently joined MLB Network and revealed when he decided to attempt to pursue pitching at the big league level.

“I think last year,” Culberson said. “After signing back with the Braves. When they first called me up, Alex (Anthopoulos) basically said, ‘hey, you’re gonna basically ride the bench. You’re not gonna play, Braves guys play everyday. After two stints up and getting one at-bat, I kind of made the decision. I kind of see the writing on the wall. I love being back home with my family.

“But I always knew that if at any point this was the case, I wanted to try pitching because it was just new, it’s fun. I’ve done it before. I’m not saying that it was easy or it’s going to be easy, but it’s just a new challenge that kind of brings the fun back into baseball for me.”

It will be interesting to see how Culberson fares on the mound. He isn’t the first player to switch from hitting to pitching, and some have found success. Perhaps Culberson will follow in their footsteps and make an impact for the Braves in 2024.

What Charlie Culberson can offer Braves on the mound

Former All-Star pitcher Jake Peavy later asked Culberson about his strengths on the mound during the MLB Network segment.

“As a hitter, I know how hard it is, or it was to hit,” Culberson said. “You did a great job for what, 15 years Jake. Kind of cool for you to say that. I think just knowing that you can do it. Having the confidence, trusting your stuff, and competing. I had the chance to do it three times the last week of the season in Triple-A, and granted it was Triple-A and not the big leagues, but I had fun with it too… You have a different demeanor on the mound.

“Yes, it can be lonely. But you have the ball, you have control. And it’s like, here’s my best stuff and just go after the guys. I don’t know, it’s just cool that feeling that you have on the mound with the ball.”

Culberson has pitched in blowouts during his MLB career. The pressure obviously isn’t as intense in those situations, but the right-hander found success nonetheless.

He’s pitched in a total of 7.1 innings, and allowed just one earned run during that span. At the very least, Culberson knows what it is like to pitch on a big league mound.

Perhaps he can emerge as a reliable hurler during the 2024 season and revitalize his career.