Catcher Brett Cumberland powers heart of Cal’s lineup
[...] healthy, Cumberland is a dominant heart-of-the-order hitter for the 10th-ranked Bears.
Entering Friday’s series opener against UCLA, Cumberland leads Cal in batting average (.391), home runs (8), slugging percentage (.844) and on-base percentage (.536).
[...] with the help of first-year assistant coach B.K. Santy, a former minor-league catcher, Cumberland boasts a respectable .976 fielding percentage.
Cumberland opened his college career on an 11-game hitting streak.
In April, he jammed his right wrist sliding into home plate at UCLA.
To avoid worsening his injuries, Cumberland settled for following his friends’ summer-league games online between shifts at the almond orchard.
Santy, who joined the Bears’ staff just three weeks before the season opener, has focused on helping Cumberland master subtleties of perhaps the sport’s most complex position: game management, communication with the pitcher, base-runner awareness.
“There are some home runs, it looks like a college guy hit it,” said Esquer, whose team is in a four-way tie atop the conference standings.
Because he will turn 21 within 45 days of June’s MLB draft, Cumberland is a draft-eligible sophomore.