IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. — Start Chris "Cito" Culver off with an 0-2 count at the plate and he’ll find a way to foul deliveries off until he gets a pitch he can drive. 
Chris Culver, Irondequoit
File photo by Mike Janes
Send him to the mound in relief with two on and none out and he’ll retire the side 1-2-3.
But stand him in front of Derek Jeter to finally meet his idol and what would happen?
"I’d probably faint," Culver joked Tuesday afternoon.
It could happen this month at a grip-and-grin ceremony in New York to announce that Culver has signed his first professional baseball contract, or on the field early in spring training early next February, but the 17-year-old Irondequoit High standout is certain to meet the veteran Yankees shortstop soon.
However, it’s safe to say the Yankees are expecting Culver to do more than just meet Jeter. By selecting him with the 32nd pick of the first round Monday night in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, the Yankees are all but announcing they think he could be the eventual heir to Jeter.
"Those are some big shoes to fill," Culver said. "I am just going to do my best. I can’t even imagine that right now."
Though he makes an intriguing pitching prospect and might eventually play the role of switch-hitting outfielder, Culver has been told by the Yankees that he’ll enter the organization as a shortstop once he signs on the dotted line. And that detail appears to be the proverbial done deal.
"It’s close to it," he said Tuesday. "We’ll see what happens in the next couple of days."
Those days could certainly be chaotic for Culver, but they’ll be no match in terms of pure drama for what happened Monday night as he awaited word of his baseball fate.
"I got a call around 9:55 p.m., which is probably like a minute and 34 seconds before they had their pick on TV," Culver said. "Damon Oppenheimer (the Yankees’ director of amateur scouting) called me and asked me how my night was going and how the draft was going. He told me I could add my name to the list because they were taking me at 32. It was just an incredible feeling. I knew they were interested in me; I just didn’t know it was going to be in the first round. It’s all I’ve been talking about since I was 3, being a shortstop for the Yankees."
Many assumed before the draft that Culver would be picked in the fourth or fifth round, so the second-guessing of the Yankees began in short order once his name was announced at the podium. But Dodgers GM Ned Colletti and Twins adviser Terry Ryan were among the experts who had been scouting Culver in person. When guys with their resumes are bird-dogging a rust-belt prospect, you have to figure something’s up.
Besides throwing from the mound consistently in the range of 90-92 mph, Culver hit .561 with nine home runs and 38 RBI in 22 games for the Eagles.
"He deserves absolutely everything he gets," Irondequoit coach Tim Mabb said. "I say he is a better kid than he is baseball player, and he is a great baseball player.
"He has an incredible work ethic, and I believe he could be (in the majors) within three to four years."
That dovetails nicely with what’s happening with the big club. Though he has belted out 200 or more hits in four of his last five seasons, Jeter does turn 36 later this month. The consensus is that the next contract he signs with the Yankees will be his last. He could retire after the 2014 season with approximate numbers of 275 homers, 3,600 hits and a .310 batting average.
So at about the time Culver could have been collecting his diploma at the University of Maryland, he might instead be making his playing debut in New York. That would also mark another important milepost in the player’s life – the approximate prison release date for his father. According to court records, Christopher Culver Sr. pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary, third-degree arson and first-degree criminal contempt after burning down the family's home on Easter Sunday in 2008.
Culver Sr. had been a driving force in the youngster’s budding sports career. Suddenly, "Cito" found himself taking on greater responsibility for his mother and two sisters. And for as much as Culver can joke about fainting in front of his idol, he takes his family role seriously outside the chalk lines of the baseball diamond.
"He loves baseball – that’s his sanctuary," said Gladys Lopez, Cito’s mother. "He feels safe there and excels there, and he’s always reflective on how he can get better, which is not just in baseball, but in everything in life."
John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at
johnschianosports@gmail.com
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