Culver shares memories from more than 40 years in Major League Baseball

Feb. 21—As a youngster growing up in 1950s Delano and later Oildale, like many his age, George Culver dreamed of pitching in the Major Leagues.

He collected baseball cards and visualized squaring off against some of the eras biggest stars. Mickey Mantle. Hank Aaron. Willie Mays. He idolized pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, and marveled at the talent of Bob Gibson.

And although he had plenty of success on the mound growing up — he finished his career at North High with a 26-4 record and then helped Bakersfield College to its first conference title in 1962 — with a fastball in the low 80s, realizing his lofty aspirations figured to be a longshot at best.

But with continued development of a slider and sinker, and increased velocity, at just 22 years old, he found himself facing off against the Boston Red Sox as a late-season call-up by the Cleveland Indians in 1966.

Culver lost the game, giving up five runs in five innings, but it was the start of a nine-year Major League career where he had an opportunity to play with or against some of the all-time greats. After his playing days finished in 1974, he continued to work in the game as a pitching coach, roving pitching instructor and minor league manager with the Phillies and Dodgers until retiring in 2010.

"I got to see all these major leaguers that I had read about and followed," Culver said. "It was just incredible how things were happening so fast for me. And then a year later I was pitching Triple-A. And I wasn't even that highly regarded a guy. I mean when you're offered $1,000 out of high school and $2,500 out of junior college, you're not much of a prospect. And so I just kept breezing through these leagues, and I didn't know how I was doing it. And when I signed, I never, ever thought the Major Leagues was possible. I never even looked that far ahead. All I know is I was going out, sleeping all day, playing baseball at night and getting paid for it. That was my dream."

Culver's experiences in the big leagues, and the relationships he built along the way, have been on his mind more frequently in recent months.

An unprecedented 10 Hall of Famers have died in the past nine months, many of whom played alongside or against Culver.

The list includes Aaron, Dodger greats Tommy Lasorda and Don Sutton, who died within two weeks of each other last month. Phil Niekro, Joe Morgan, Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Tom Seaver and Al Kaline died in 2020.

With each passing, Culver has had an opportunity to reflect on his part of baseball history.

He remembers facing Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth's all-time home run record in 1974 and finished with 755 during a 23-year-career. The mark was eclipsed by Barry Bonds in 2014, but Hammerin' Hank still holds career records for most RBIs, extra base hits, total bases and All-Star Game appearances.

Aaron, who died on Jan. 22 at 86, hit home runs off 310 different pitchers, including one that Culver will never forget.

"I faced him more than anyone else," said Culver of the 39 times he pitched against Aaron. "Henry was pretty much toward the end of his career and he was in a home run mode. I mean he was trying to hit home runs, so he was trying to pull everything. In fact I saw an interview with him and Bob Costas where he said that when he went to Atlanta he saw how easy it was to hit home runs and he didn't feel like he had to hit the ball to the opposite field all the time. He felt like he could pull the ball and hit home runs, and he did."

Culver tried to exploit Aaron's perceived weakness, and did so with considerable success. In 35 at-bats, Aaron had just seven hits for a .200 average, striking out three times and grounding into two double plays.

"For me, he was a little easier to pitch to during that time because he tried to pull everything so I was able to throw my slider away from him," Culver said. "Knock him off the plate with a fastball and then throw the slider away. I'd kind of go back and forth, and so I had good luck with him. I don't know how many rockets he must have hit at somebody during that time, but they were outs."

But on May 5, 1970, Aaron broke through against Culver. With one out and one on in the bottom of the fifth, he launched home run No. 567 over the centerfield fence, the only longball he ever hit off Culver — and one he remembers like it was yesterday.

"He hit it right over the top of the centerfield fence, right over my head," Culver said. "When he hit the ball, I ducked. It went right over my head and took off like a golf ball over the centerfield fence in Atlanta. That was the only home run he ever hit off me, but it was a thrill to be on the same field with those guys."

Culver also recalls another story where Aaron took offense to the scouting report that said he only pulled the ball. While playing with the Houston Astros, Culver remembers his manager Harry Walker telling a reporter that Aaron was a much better hitter when he hit the ball to all fields.

"We're playing (the Braves) in Houston one night and they have the winning run on second base, and we have the infield on a semi-shift, not like they do now, but playing him to pull the ball," Culver said. "I don't remember who was pitching, but they threw him a pitch and he just sort of stuck his bat out and hit it to right field for a base hit, knocked in the go-ahead run. And (as he ran to first base) he looked into our dugout waving at Harry."

The following season, Culver was playing for the Dodgers, where he became close friends with Sutton, who won 324 games during an 18-year MLB career. He died of cancer on Jan. 19.

Later that season, Culver was traded to the Phillies, at the same time the team was in town to play at Dodger Stadium. Culver says he was devastated, having built so many good relationships with the team, many of which continue to today.

"It broke my heart, all the players were coming over wishing me good luck, and Sutton was one of the guys that went on the record saying when I got traded that it took the spirit out of our team (after I was traded)," said Culver of the Dodgers, who lost a seven-game lead in the NL West to the Reds after he was traded. "I don't know what I was doing (to make him say that). I was playing Merle Haggard and Buck Owens songs all the time, so maybe that was (what he meant)."

Culver remembers clearing out his locker and walking to the visitors locker room that same day.

"I went around to the visitors locker room and put myself in a locker and I was with the Phillies," Culver said with a laugh. "It was really hard. I had so many great teammates on the Dodgers, Al Downing, Tommy John and Don Sutton, Willie Davis. We had a great mix of guys. The next thing I knew, Cincinnati overtook them. They won like 50 of their last 60 games. The Dodgers won like 96 games, didn't get to the playoffs, but they voted me a full share, can you believe that?"

The following year, Sutton served as the guest speaker when Culver was inducted into the Bob Elias Kern County Hall of Fame and participated in local fundraisers in Bakersfield in the years that followed.

Culver also had an opportunity to get to know Tommy Lasorda, the longtime Dodgers manager, who was in his first year as the team's third base coach in 1973. Lasorda died Jan. 7 at 93.

"Tommy deserves a lot of credit for the Dodgers success because he managed all those guys in the minor leagues," Culver said. "He managed (Steve) Garvey and (Ron) Cey, (Davey) Lopes, (Bill) Russell, and (Steve) Yeager and (Charlie) Hough. (Hough's) 25 years he played in the big leagues he owes to Tommy Lasorda because he suggested he throw the knuckleball because he was going to get released if he didn't come up with something. He started throwing a knuckleball and he and only two others guys have thrown that long in the Major Leagues. Tommy John and Nolan Ryan. Amazing. So he did a lot for a lot of people. I mean he worked his rear end off. He threw batting practice constantly."

Prior to joining the Dodgers, Culver was teammates with Gibson, Brock, and 1972 American League MVP Dick Allen.

Gibson, who died Oct. 2 of pancreatic cancer, was one of the most dominant pitchers of his era, earning the NL Cy Young award and MVP in 1968 when he won 22 games and finished with a 1.12 ERA.

"When I was playing with him, here's this human being that you can't even visualize being in the clubhouse with him," Culver said. "I mean he just seems bigger than life. And the way he went about his job ... You'd watch him pitch and he was just supremely confident. He knew he was going to get everybody out. He was just a pleasure to watch. And he never was someone that punched his fist after he struck you out, but if you took too long getting into the batter's box he'd let you know he didn't like it."

Culver remembers living in the same apartment complex with Gibson during the 1970 season and eating lunch with him almost everyday.

"We'd talk about different things and I'd be sitting next to him thinking, wow this is really an honor and thrill to be sitting next to this guy," Culver said. "He was very intelligent, he knew what he knew and what he was going to do. Supremely confident."

Despite their friendly relationship, Culver discovered firsthand how competitive Gibson was after being traded to the Astros in mid-season.

"After being traded, we'd be on the field for batting practice and I'd see him," Culver said. "'How you doing Gibby?' And he wouldn't even acknowledge me. If you were on the other team, he did not acknowledge you. You were not part of his group. And he let you know it. That's what kind of a competitor he was. He had no friends on the other team."

Several years later, Culver reconnected with Gibson during spring training while Gibson's son was playing in Dodgers' minor league system and the former teammates had several friendly conversations.

Culver has memories of being teammates with Brock, one of the greatest base stealers in baseball history, and also trying to keep him in check on the base paths as an opposing pitcher. Brock died of cancer on Sept. 6.

"When he got on base, it was going to be a double," Culver said. "He was very hard to contain and keep at first base. You'd keep throwing to first base and he'd start laughing at you because it didn't make any difference. So as a pitcher you're wasting your time even throwing to first base. All these things they do today with quick steps and slide steps all that, it didn't make any difference. When he got ready to go, he went. It was just like with Maury Wills, within two steps they're at full speed. They didn't take a while to get going."

Allen, who died Dec. 7 at 78, is another teammate from that partial season that is forever linked to Culver.

Two years earlier, Allen scored the only run when Culver tossed a no-hitter against the Phillies as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. Allen reached on a throwing error in the second inning, moved over to third on a ground out and scored on a sacrifice fly to give Philadelphia an early 1-0 lead. But the Reds rallied and Culver struck out four, walking five in the highlight of his career.

The circumstances that led up to the no-no make the feat even more impressive. In the second game of a doubleheader that started after 10 p.m., Culver was having difficulty putting weight on his foot. His teammate Lee May had stepped on his foot during winter ball and he was having a nagging toe injury that flared up at times.

Just before the game he got delayed while getting a novocaine shot in his foot and narrowly arrived on the field before the first pitch.

"And so the second game started about 10:30, 11 o'clock. When I went out to warmup, my first baseman Lee May had stepped on my foot in winter ball and I'd been having ingrown toe nail problems ever since then, so it finally got to the point where I couldn't hardly walk, so I went up to the training room without even throwing a warmup yet, and he shot novocaine in my foot.

"By the time I got down to the field, the umpire was taking the lineups, and I'm like, 'oh my God, I haven't even thrown a ball,' " Culver said. "In those days, they used to have the warmup mounds in front of the dugouts. And I grabbed the catcher and threw as many pitches as I could as fast as I could. And when the game started, the whole thing was, don't hurt your arm. Just kind of ease into it. So I did, and I got through the first inning pretty easy."

In the second, Allen led off by reaching when his ground ball bounced off third baseman Tony Perez and shortstop Woody Woodward threw the ball into the stands. Allen wound up at second base, and Culver assumed that the official scorer awarded him a hit on the play. It wasn't until a few innings later that Culver realized he was in the midst of making history.

"And each inning went by, I kept looking up and they still hadn't changed it to a hit," said Culver, who faced former East High standout Johnny Collison during the game, as well. "And so by now, whatever fans are left there, probably a couple thousand people because it was really late at night and it was in a bad neighborhood in Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium, And the people were all on our side of the ballpark above the dugout rooting for me, against their own team."

Culver was also teammates with Morgan while with the Astros. Morgan died Oct. 11. He also faced Kaline, giving up a home run to him in Detroit.

"He hit a home run off me in front of 40,000 people in Detroit and the manager made me throw at his head the next time up," Culver said. "And then I got booed by 40,000 people."

It's all a bit surreal for Culver, who even now is somewhat in awe of the many baseball heroes he rubbed elbows with in his career.

"I mean, I'm from Oildale and I grew up collecting baseball cards with these guys, and the next thing I know, I'm standing on the field facing these guys," Culver said. "Mickey Mantle is one of my big idols, and I faced him in Yankee Stadium. I couldn't even believe I was standing on the mound and he was up at home plate 60 feet away. It was almost like a dream. I was just fortunate, very fortunate."