Christopher S. "Cito" Culver (born August 26, 1992) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

. He was drafted by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in the first round of the

2010 Major League Baseball draft The 2010 Major League Baseball draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team picking first. ;Key ...

Career

Culver attended

Irondequoit High School Irondequoit High School (IHS) is a co-educational public school in Rochester, New York in the suburb of Irondequoit, New York. It was founded in 1924 as a part of the current West Irondequoit Central School District. History Irondequoit Distric ...

Irondequoit, New York Irondequoit () is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town (and census-designated place) in Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, New York (state), New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the cotermi ...

, a suburb of Rochester. He played little league for Irondequoit Athletic Association.

New York Yankees

Culver was selected by the

with their first-round pick, 32nd overall, in the

2010 MLB Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team picking first. ;Key ...

. While he had already committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, he passed on his commitment and instead signed a contract reportedly worth $954,000 with the Yankees. He made his professional debut that season for the

Gulf Coast Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball ...

. He was later promoted to the

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pl ...

. Overall in 56 games, Culver hit .251/.325/.330 with two

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

and 18 RBI. Culver spent the entire 2011 season with Staten Island, posting a

slash line This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

of .250/.323/.337 with two home runs and 33 RBI in 69 games. In 2012, he played for the

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Char ...

, batting .215/.321/.283 with two home runs and 40 RBI in 122 games. Culver decided to stick to batting right-handed rather than switch hitting prior to the 2013 season. He started the season back with Charleston. In August, he was promoted to the

Tampa Yankees Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the county seat of Hillsborough C ...

. Overall, he hit .248/.322/.362 with nine home runs and 34 RBI in 120 games. He remained with Tampa for the 2014 season and in 132 games, he batted .220/.298/.303 with five home runs, 48 RBI, and 12 steals, playing 130 of the games at shortstop while serving as the DH the other two. Culver spent 2015 with both the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

and the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

, where he posted a combined .207

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with three home runs and 30 RBI in 114 combined games between both teams. In 2016, Culver also split time between the Thunder and the RailRiders, where he batted .254 with four home runs and 51 RBI in 117 games. He elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2016. On December 10, 2016, Culver re–signed with the Yankees organization on a minor league contract. He played his final season in the Yankees organization in 2017, batting .224 with 12 home runs and 48 RBI in 103 games with the RailRiders. Culver elected free agency after the season on November 6, 2017.

Miami Marlins

On January 9, 2018, Culver signed a minor league contract with the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

. He split the season between the Double–A

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in th ...

and Triple–A

New Orleans Baby Cakes The New Orleans Baby Cakes (formerly the New Orleans Zephyrs) were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They were located in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, ...

, playing in 69 games and hitting .227/.299/.314 with 4 home runs and 27 RBI. Culver elected free agency following the season on November 2.

Sussex County Miners

On February 8, 2019, Culver signed with the

Rockland Boulders The New York Boulders are a professional baseball team based in Pomona, New York. The Boulders compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the East Division in the Atlantic Conference. The team plays its home games at Clover Stadium, a s ...

of the independent

Can-Am League The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional baseball league with teams in Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States. Founded in 2005 in Dayton, Ohio, the league was for ...

. On June 14, he was claimed off waivers by the

Sussex County Miners The Sussex County Miners are a professional baseball team based in Augusta, New Jersey. The Miners compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the East Division in the Atlantic Conference. The team plays its home games at Skylands Stadium ...

of the

. Culver was signed to a contract extension by the Miners on January 8, 2020.

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks

On February 21, 2020, Culver was traded to the

Kansas City T-Bones The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Kansas. Formerly known as the Kansas City T-Bones, they are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball; which, in 2020, became designated as a Majo ...

of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. The T-Bones were not selected to compete in the condensed 60-game season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He was later drafted by the

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Fargo, North Dakota, in the United States. The RedHawks are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major Lea ...

in the 2020 dispersal draft. Culver was released by the RedHawks on July 18.

Sussex County Miners (second stint)

On November 27, 2020, Culver signed with the

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

. In 2021, Culver played in 95 games for Sussex County, slashing .275/.373/.405 with 7 home runs, 45 RBI, and 5 stolen bases. He played in 50 games for the team in 2022, but struggled to a .196/.344/.294 slash with 2 home runs and 18 RBI.

Tri-City ValleyCats

On July 18, 2022, Culver was claimed off waivers by the

Tri-City ValleyCats The Tri-City ValleyCats are a professional baseball team based in Albany, New York. The ValleyCats compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the North Division in the Atlantic Conference. The team was established in 2002, along with the ...

of the

. He played in 37 games for Tri-City to close out the year, hitting .329/.413/.557 with 6 home runs, 18 RBI, and 3 stolen bases. Culver signed a contract extension with the ValleyCats before the 2023 season. In 95 games for the team in 2023, he batted .299/.402/.443 with 12 home runs, 53 RBI, and 15 stolen bases.

Mumbai Cobras

Culver was drafted in October 2023 by the

Mumbai Cobras The Mumbai Cobras are a professional baseball club from Mumbai, India. Founded in 2023 as a member of Baseball United, the Mumbai Cobras are the first professional baseball team in India's history. The Cobras were announced on May 15, 2023, as th ...

in the inaugural draft of

Baseball United Baseball United is a professional baseball organization in West Asia and South Asia. It began with two showcase games in Dubai in November 2023. The winter league's first season with five teams representing cities in India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia ...

Hagerstown Flying Boxcars

On November 17, 2023, Culver and Trey Hair were traded to the

Cleburne Railroaders The Cleburne Railroaders are a professional baseball team based in Cleburne, Texas, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The team, which began play in 2017, plays i ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor ...

in exchange for two players to be named later. On March 22, 2024, Culver officially signed with the Railroaders. However, on May 8, Culver was released by the Railroaders. On May 15, 2024, Culver signed with the

Hagerstown Flying Boxcars The Hagerstown Flying Boxcars are a professional baseball team that began play in 2024 in Hagerstown, Maryland. The franchise competes in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in the North Division and play their home games at Meritus Par ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. In 105 games for Hagerstown, he slashed .273/.350/.421 with 14 home runs and 57 RBI. Culver became a free agent following the season.

Tigres de Quintana Roo

On January 7, 2025, Culver signed with the

Tigres de Quintana Roo The Tigres de Quintana Roo (English: Quintana Roo Tigers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The team is part of the Southern Division (). The team has won twelve championships to date: ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He was released by Quintana Roo on April 11. He has since announced his retirement from professional baseball after a 15 year career.

Personal

Culver grew up a fan of the Yankees and

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974), nicknamed "the Captain", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) caree ...

. His father served nine years in

Attica Correctional Facility Attica Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison campus in the Town of Attica, New York, operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. It was constructed in the 1930s in response to earlier riots ...

for attempting to set his family's house on fire on March 22, 2008. He was later diagnosed with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

. By terms of the plea agreement, Culver can have no contact with his father.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Culver, Cito 1992 births Living people Baseball players from Rochester, New York Gulf Coast Yankees players Staten Island Yankees players Charleston RiverDogs players Tampa Yankees players People from Irondequoit, New York Sportspeople from Monroe County, New York Trenton Thunder players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Indios de Mayagüez players New Orleans Baby Cakes players Rockland Boulders players Sussex County Miners players Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks players