Former SF Giants 1st-round pick officially hangs up his cleats

Longtime infielder Charlie Culberson was the last active player from the SF Giants 2007 draft class. However, he announced his retirement on Thursday in a long and heartfelt post on Instagram.

Former SF Giants 1st-round pick officially hangs up his cleats

Giants history might look a little different if not for the 2007 draft. Of course, Madison Bumgarner headlined the Giants draft class from that year, but Culberson has a small footnote as well.

Bumgarner was selected with the No. 10 pick out of South Caldwell High School in Hudson, North Carolina. A few short years later he would be pitching against the Texas Rangers in the 2010 World Series as a 20-year-old rookie.

By the time 2014 concluded, Bumgarner had led the way to three World Series titles and etched his name as one of the great postseason pitchers in baseball history.

On the other hand, the Giants hoped that Culberson could develop into a utility bat. However, they pulled the cord on that idea after 23 plate appearances in 2012. He was shipped to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for veteran infielder Marco Scutaro.

Scutaro went on a tear following the deal, slashing .362/.385/.473 with three home runs and 44 RBI in 268 plate appearances while helping the club clinch its second World Series title in three seasons. At the time, the Giants were a fundamentally sound team and Scutaro plugged in nicely as a hitter who could keep the line moving.

On the other hand, Culberson carved out a niche as a utility bat with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves. That can be a tough role to fill because teams do not generally spend much on utility players.

However, the versatile glove did just enough on the field to continue finding playing time. He never emerged as an everyday player with his most extensive playing time coming in 2018 when he appeared in 113 games with the Braves. That also proved to be his best year as he tallied a .792 OPS with 12 home runs and 45 RBI in 322 plate appearances.

Overall, the right-handed bat registered a .680 OPS across 11 seasons in the majors. That type of longevity is something most players can only dream of. His last season in the majors came in 2024 and it was an interesting one where he spent nearly two months on the Braves' roster, but only collected one at-bat.

That said, Culberson pushed to continue his playing career in 2024. He attempted to reinvent himself as a pitcher and even appeared in a couple of spring training games with Atlanta before he was released.

The 35-year-old infielder now hopes to pursue a career in coaching or broadcasting. With his career now officially in the books, we would like to wish Culberson and his family the best of luck in his future endeavors.