The First Thing Cito Culver Will Have To Deal With If He Signs With Yankees
It will be questions about his family.
Via nesn.com –
Culver’s father, Christopher Culver, Sr. won’t be joining in on any draft parties, as he is scheduled to be imprisoned for at least six more years after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including first-degree burglary and third-degree arson. He burned down the family’s Rochester home on Easter Sunday 2008.
What is it with the Yankees and taking kids #1 who come from broken families? They did it last year with Slade Heathcott too. And, of course, we know about Joba’s mother.
Don’t get me wrong. I know that kids can’t pick their parents. Shoot, for that matter, let’s talk about Babe Ruth’s parents. Obviously, people can rise above these things, sometimes. But, also, at times, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as well. And, when I hear Jonathan Mayo on the MLB Network say that there are questions about Cito Culver’s effort (at times) and then see reports like this about his father, I have to wonder if the Yankees did all the requisite background checks on this kid’s make-up.
Meh, unless he works for Avon or Mary Kay, I wouldn’t worry about his makeup… If he has talent, teams will overlook issues a player would have.
Having said that, Rochester’s a nice city, but a zoo at times.
@ Raf:
I know – and I’ll use Gary Sheffield as an example – his father background story is messed up.
Gary’s mother is Dwight Gooden’s older sister. She married a man named Harold Jones and took his last name. However, before she married Jones, she became pregnant by a man named Marvin Johnson – a pregnancy which led to the birth of “Gary Sheffield.” Where did “Sheffield” come from? While she was pregnant, Gary’s mom was planning to marry a man named Lindsay Sheffield. When Gary was born, his mother listed “Sheffield” as the last name on his birth certificate to match the name of the man she planned to marry. However, the Gooden-Lindsay marriage never happened – and, after the break-up, Lindsay was killed. So, as Gary writes “My father’s name is Johnson. My mother’s name is Jones. My grandmother and grandfather’s name is Gooden. And, I’m Sheffield, named for a man, killed in a robbery, who I never knew.”
And, Sheffield went on to post a borderline HOF career.
So, it’s possible this all means nothing for Culver.
I fully realize that not every prospect can have Charles and Dorothy Jeter for their parents.
I just hope the Yankees did their homework on this one. I say hope because I’m not sure they always do…See Pavano, Igawa, etc.
Steve Lombardi wrote:
The issues Pavano and Igawa have had have little to do with coming from broken homes, or their makeup.
@ Raf:
Pavano was a lazy bum and Igawa has stage fright. That has nothing to do with their make-up?
I understand what you’re saying, but draft picks have gone sideways for any number of reasons. Sheffield worked out, Elijah Dukes hasn’t. Jeter has had great parents, so did Josh Hamilton, and by all accounts Jackson Melian.
Baseball’s a tough game, and players wash out for any number of reasons.
Steve Lombardi wrote:
Pavano has a laundry list of injuries dating back to his time in the Red Sox organization, and Igawa has pitched to huge crowds in Japan. The Yankee Universe has nothing on the Hanshin Tigers fanbase. Igawa’s problem isn’t stage fright.
What is it with the Yankees and taking kids #1 who come from broken families?
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I’d go with the majority of kids these days COME from broken families.
And, when I hear Jonathan Mayo on the MLB Network say that there are questions about Cito Culver’s effort (at times)
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Could say the same thing about Hanley Ramirez, and we’d all take him on our team.
@ Corey Italiano:
Didn’t they use to say that about Cano too?
@ bfriley76:
That is a fact my good man.
Maybe coming from a tough background motivates him to do well in baseball because it’s an escape from his difficult home life. Or maybe it motivates him to do well in baseball so he can make a lot of money and give his mother everything his father couldn’t give. Or maybe it motivates him to do well in baseball so he can prove to himself, and to his father, that it’s possible to succeed without being a crook.
Adversity can make a person stronger, just as much as it can mess a person up. Add to that the fact that no drafted player – I don’t care if you are pick #1 or pick #1000 – is anywhere near a sure thing, and speculating about this kid’s makeup before he’s even signed a deal is really beyond fruitless.
Corey Italiano wrote:
Bingo. By classification, this 22 year old was a part of a broken family (my dad left my mom when I was 6 months old, never grew up with a real father, etc). Sadly, it is what it is now-and-days.