Behind the scenes | The helping hands of a bullpen catcher

Series Introduction: Players and coaches often take the spotlight when it comes to baseball media and fans. But there are so many other people that contribute to a baseball team that may not get as much recognition as they deserve.

This series is designed to highlight a few of the supporting members within the Lansing Lugnuts organization, showcasing who they are and bringing to light what they do for the team.

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LANSING, Mich. – To the fans watching a Lansing Lugnuts game from the stands, the job of bullpen catcher Cullen Turner might seem pretty simple.

“That's what I like to joke is my actual job lasts five minutes at most,” Turner said.

In reality, Turner does so much more for the Lugnuts than warm pitchers up in the bullpen. And his impact, experienced by both the coaching staff and the players, is felt on and off the field.

A Background in Baseball

Baseball has been a part of Turner’s life ever since he started t-ball around the ages of four or five. Turner credited his parents for having an influence over his love of the game.

“I played catch with them a ton growing up,” Turner said. “My mom was a teacher, so she was home during the summers, and I was always bugging her to play catch with me and stuff.”

Baseball also gave Turner a sense of community.

“Had a lot of great friends that played baseball growing up, and that's kinda how I made a lot of my friends,” Turner said. “So I think that was just kinda the community I built was through baseball.”

Turner didn’t start out playing catcher, instead playing second base until his coach offered him a chance to try the position when he was 14.

“I always liked the thought of having gear and getting to wear cool gear and stuff, and he presented the opportunity to catch, and I took it and I caught that year, fell in love with it,” Turner said. “ I love that side of the game and kinda just being always involved with every pitch and everything.”

Since then, Turner has been behind the plate. After playing at the varsity level in high school, Turner went on to play for Lansing Community College in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, his team reached the NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series semifinal and won its first regional and conference championships. In Turner’s second season, the team won a second conference championship.

After his time at LCC came to an end, Turner was faced with the decision of whether he wanted to continue his education at Michigan State or find a smaller school where he could continue playing baseball, and the opportunity to become a bullpen catcher for the Lugnuts helped him make the choice. Turner began his work for the Nuts in 2018 and has since graduated with a teaching degree from Michigan State, where he was also a bullpen catcher for a year.

The Art of Bullpen Catching

For Turner, becoming a bullpen catcher for the Lugnuts was about staying connected with the game and expanding his knowledge of the sport. With aspirations to one day get into coaching, Turner said he is using this position to build up to that point.

“I love just being involved with the game, and I thought that was probably the best opportunity for me to continue being involved with the game and learn from professional baseball players, professional coaches, and things like that.”

The most obvious job of a bullpen catcher is to help relief pitchers warm up to come into a game, but there’s so much more Turner contributes to the team. For instance, Turner will also throw batting practice, work with pitchers in pre-game and help catchers practice their defense.

Starting pitcher Nathan Dettmer used the word “selfless” when describing what stands out most about Turner.

“Being a guy that might not get the spotlight all the time, but just being around to help out,” Dettmer said. “And I know we really appreciate it. He's just a great guy, and that speaks really to who he is.”

“He's just a workhorse. … He's willing to do anything we ask,” pitching coach Levi Kelly said. “He's always out here helping the guys, catching guys. I see him out before the game working with the catchers, throwing BP. I mean, he does a little bit of everything.”

Kelly went as far as to call Turner, “ an extension of the coaching staff.”

“Earlier in the year, I told him, ‘Hey, basically, you know, I don't know you that well,’” Kelly said. “‘It's my first year being here, but I look at you as the bullpen coach.’ And I could tell right away just his knowledge of the game and just the trust that the guys put into him. So I was like, ‘Hey, you know, the bullpen is yours. Anything you see, bring it to me. And, you know, I trust you out there.’"

In terms of what Turner brings to the bullpen as a coaching figure, Kelly highlighted “his ability to see pitches.”

“He has a pretty good feel for like, ‘Hey, this guy's working on a slider. What should it look like from a receiving standpoint?’” Kelly said. “And when I go back and look at Trackman numbers and stuff like that based on his input, he's pretty spot on."

“He's been around the game enough to where he can see how certain pitches move and how he needs to set up and how he can help you in the bullpen make those balls look more like strikes,” Dettmer said.

Turner said he will give advice based on little, unusual things he might notice during a pitcher’s routine, like different arm or body movements.

“Some guys are a lot more receptive than others,” Turner said. “So I generally pick the ones that I think I have a good relationship with and my message will get across better to them.”

Turner said he takes the most pride in taking things off the catcher's plates so they have more time to work on their personal game.

“It can be tough for catchers, especially if we only have two or three catchers, for them to get all their time hitting or to get all their time doing defensive work or stuff like that, having to work with pitchers and catch their pens and sides and stuff like that,” Turner said. “So I try to take as much as I can off their plate, and I really enjoy doing that, and I look at it as a way that I can help them kind of better their career in a little manner.”

Catcher Ben Newton described Turner as, “a constant presence.”

“We have a lot of places that we need to go and we need to be, so just having somebody that's always there is really helpful, for sure,” Newton said.

Turner called it a “privilege” to be part of player’s journeys up to the major leagues and to see them grow into both men and professional baseball players.

“If I was in their shoes, I wouldn't look back and say, ‘bullpen catcher had any impact on my career,’” Turner said. “But in my head, personally and a little selfishly, I do like to think that maybe I had a 10th of a percentage impact on their career and helped them in some way.”

Turner said his favorite part of the job is the social aspect of being a member of the team, and his presence is felt by the others in the clubhouse. To Newton, Turner stands out as someone who cares about the players and the team and whose impact travels further than the help he provides on the field.

“While we have the best job on Earth, it does get kinda Groundhog Day,” Newton said. “So having another guy there that just brings that positive attitude and just a good approach on life, having another guy like that is really helpful just staying positive every day.”

For Dettmer, Turner’s caring spirit takes shape in how he shows an interest in others.

“When you're talking to him, he's always asking about you, asking how he can help get you better on certain pitches,” Dettmer said.

Turner said it comes down to being a good teammate, especially when understanding a lot of the players on the team are in unfamiliar situations away from home, whereas he’s been in the area for a long time.

“You're there to support guys, and you're there to be a good teammate, having a positive attitude. … They have a really difficult job and a different career, so just try to make it as easy as possible,” Turner said. “Ask them how they're doing, how their family's doing, things like that, and try to be a good friend, good teammate.”