Chris Cumberland

From BR Bullpen

Christopher Mark Cumberland

  • Bats Right, Throws Left
  • Height 6' 1", Weight 189 lb.

BR Minors page

Chris Cumberland pitched in AAA during eight different seasons but never made it to the major leagues. His father was big league pitcher and coach John Cumberland. His cousin Dale Plummer also was a longtime AAA hurler who never got into The Show.

Chris went pretty far considering his draft slot - the New York Yankees took him in the 48th round of the 1992 amateur draft, after 1,333 other players had been picked. He debuted as a pro with the 1993 Oneonta Yankees, going 4-4 with a 3.34 ERA. He surrendered 109 hits, the most in the New York-Penn League. In 48 2/3 more innings in 1994 (with the Greensboro Bats, Chris gave up only 14 more hits. He was 14-5 with a 2.94 ERA. He tied for the most wins by a Yankee farmhand and was 9th in the South Atlantic League in ERA. He was named the SAL All-Star left-handed pitcher.

Injuries set back Cumberland in 1995 as he only pitched 9 games between the Tampa Yankees (1-2, 1.82) and GCL Yankees (0-1, 1.29). Baseball America rated him New York's #8 prospect entering 1996. Back in health, he was not back in form that year, going 5-7 with a 5.27 ERA for the Norwich Navigators and 2-7 with a 6.52 ERA for the Columbus Clippers. He gave up 198 hits overall. Cumberland began 1997 with Norwich and had a 11-10, 4.02 record. He finished the year with the Baltimore Orioles' New Britain Rock Cats affiliate (1-0, 3.18). Overall, he was 9th in the Eastern League in ERA, between Hector Mercado and Trey Moore, but his 193 hits were only 15 shy of the lead.

Chris moved to relief in 1998 and did well with New Britain (3-4, Sv, 2.63) but struggled with the Salt Lake Buzz (3-2, 5.93). He then began a long wandering from one organization to another as AAA roster filler. With the Boston Red Sox organization in 1999, he pitched for the Trenton Thunder (2-0, Sv, 1 R in 21 IP) and Pawtucket Red Sox (4-3, 4.45). He began 2000 with the San Francisco Giants' Fresno Grizzlies (0-3, 9.93, 1.90 WHIP) and ended with the Atlanta Braves' Greenville Braves (2-1, 4.57). He split 2001 between Greenville (3-7, 3.46) and the Richmond Braves (2-3, Sv, 4.86).

Cumberland moved to the Toronto Blue Jays system in 2002, appearing for the Tennessee Smokies (8 R, 17 H in 9 1/3 IP, 0-1) and Syracuse SkyChiefs (0-4, 3.22) as well as the independent Long Island Ducks (7 R in 5 1/3 IP). In 2003, he was with the San Diego Padres' Portland Beavers (3 R in 7 1/3 IP) and the Fort Worth Cats (1-0, 1 UER in 11 2/3 IP). He ended his winding journeys with the 2004 Omaha Royals, giving up six runs and seven walks in 4 2/3 IP to end it.