Drew Cumberland

Andrew L. Cumberland

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.
• High School Pace High School

• Born January 13, 1989 in Pace, FL USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Drew Cumberland was a supplemental first-round pick in the 2007 amateur draft but was forced into early retirement by a neurological condition. He is the brother of Shaun Cumberland.

Cumberland hit .518 as a senior at Pace High School in his native Florida. Baseball America named him a second-team All-American infielder alongside Pete Kozma, Justin Jackson and Nick Noonan and behind Matt Dominguez, Mike Moustakas, Kevin Ahrens and Josh Vitters. He was the third of six first-round selections by the San Diego Padres in the 2007 Amateur Draft, following Nick Schmidt and Kellen Kulbacki. The choice, the 46th overall, was compensation for the loss of Dave Roberts to free agency. Cumberland was signed by scout Bob Filotei and split his first pro campaign between the AZL Padres (.318/.389/.365, 12 E in 21 G) and the Eugene Emeralds (6 for 18, 6 R in 4 G). Baseball America rated him as the Arizona League's #7 prospect - among infielders, he was third after Angel Villalona and Noonan.

Drew hit .286/.348/.350 for the Fort Wayne Wizards in 2008, limited to 53 games by a right oblique strain. He stole 16 bases in 20 tries but fielded just .922 at short. On a rehab stint, he was 5 for 10 with a double and two triples for the AZL Padres.

Back with Fort Wayne in 2009, Cumberland improved his batting line to .293/.386/.410 in 77 games. He scored 57 runs and was 19-for-22 in steal attempts while improving his fielding to .949 at SS. He began 2010 with a blast for the Lake Elsinore Storm, hitting .365/.404/.542 after 60 games with 63 runs. That earned him a promotion to the AA San Antonio Missions and a spot on the US team for the 2010 Futures Game. He started at second base and hit 9th for the USA. In the second inning, he flew out against Hector Noesi. He popped up versus Julio Teheran in the fourth. Danny Espinosa later replaced him. With San Antonio, he hit .278 in 15 games but had to cut his season short, complaining of illness, frequent migraines and vision problems.

When the problems were still present in spring training in 2011, the Padres sent Drew to various specialists to try to determine what exactly was ailing him. After a few months, he was diagnosed with bilateral vestibulopathy, a condition in which the portion of both of his inner ears which control balance have been damaged. It was likely that concussions he had suffered at a younger age had contributed to the condition. Cumberland sat out the entire season, working as a coach with the Fort Wayne for part of the summer, then tried to come back in spring training of 2012 after undergoing treatment in the off-season. However, the condition returned after a few days. Doctors determined that it was the strain caused by the strenuous exercice regime demanded of a professional athlete that caused the recurrence of the problem. Facing that verdict, Cumberland elected to retire.

Sources

• 2010 Padres Media Guide
• 2007-2010 Baseball Almanacs

Related Sites

• Article from mlb.com on Cumberland's retirement