Matthew Brett Cumberland (born June 25, 1995) 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 ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Career

Cumberland attended Turlock High School in

Turlock, California Turlock is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Its population was 72,740 at the 2020 United States census, making it the second-largest city in Stanislaus County after Modesto. History Founded on December 22, 1871, by pr ...

. In 2014, ''

The Modesto Bee ''The Modesto Bee'' is a California newspaper. It has about 70 employees and is delivered throughout central California, reaching places such as Modesto, Turlock, Oakdale, Ceres, Patterson and Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y ...

'' named Cumberland their All-District Player of the Year. He enrolled at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where he played

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

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

. He became California's starting

in his freshman year. In 2016, Cumberland was named the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

's Baseball Player of the Year. He was named as a finalist for the

Golden Spikes Award The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...

Atlanta Braves

The

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

selected Cumberland in the second round, with the 76th overall selection, of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

. He signed with Atlanta and was assigned to the

Danville Braves The Danville Braves were a Minor League Baseball team in Danville, Virginia. They were an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have played home games at American Legion Post 3 ...

, where he spent the whole season, posting a .216 batting average with three home runs and 30 RBIs in 45 games. He began the 2017 season with the

Rome Braves The Rome Emperors are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2023, the team wa ...

, and after batting .263 with ten home runs and 48 RBIs in 55 games, was promoted to the

Florida Fire Frogs The Florida Fire Frogs were a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League from 2017 to 2020. They were located in North Port, Florida, and served as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Founded in 2017, the Fire Frogs ...

where he finished the season with a .269 batting average one home run and 21 RBIs in 56 games. He began 2018 with the Fire Frogs before being promoted to the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they were referred to locally, were a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, from 2005 to 2024. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and competed in ...

in July.

Baltimore Orioles

On July 31, 2018, the Braves traded Cumberland, Jean Carlos Encarnacion, Evan Phillips, and Bruce Zimmermann to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

in exchange for Kevin Gausman and

Darren O'Day Darren Christopher O'Day (born October 22, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York Mets, Texas Rangers (baseball), Te ...

. He was assigned to the Double-A

Bowie Baysox The Chesapeake Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. From 1993 to 2024, th ...

and finished the season there. In 102 games between Florida, Mississippi, and Bowie, he batted .224 with 14 home runs and 46 RBI. In 2019, he returned to Bowie, but missed time during the season due to injury; he ultimately played in 41 games, batting .248 with four home runs and twenty RBI. Cumberland did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of 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 ...

. Cumberland spent the 2021 season with the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...

, playing in 84 games and batting .187/.352/.330 with 10 home runs and 23 RBI. He split the 2022 campaign between the rookie-level

Florida Complex League Orioles The Florida Complex League Orioles are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Before 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Orioles. The team plays its home g ...

, High-A

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of th ...

, and Norfolk. In 47 games for the three affiliates, Cumberland slashed .230/.346/.336 with four home runs and 22 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 10, 2022.

San Francisco Giants

On December 22, 2022, Cumberland signed a minor league contract with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. He played in only one game for the rookie–level

Arizona Complex League Giants The Arizona Complex League Giants are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Scottsdale Stadium in Sc ...

, and elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2023. On May 5, 2024, Cumberland announced his retirement from professional baseball.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cumberland, Brett 1995 births Living people Turlock High School alumni Baseball players from Turlock, California Baseball catchers California Golden Bears baseball players Danville Braves players Rome Braves players Florida Fire Frogs players Melbourne Aces players Mississippi Braves players Aberdeen IronBirds players Frederick Keys players Bowie Baysox players Norfolk Tides players Klamath Falls Gems players Florida Complex League Orioles players Arizona Complex League Giants players