Norm Charlton
Pitcher
Born: January 6, 1963 (1963-01-06) (age 46) Fort Polk, Louisiana
Batted: Switch	Threw: Left
MLB debut
August 19, 1988 for the Cincinnati Reds
Last MLB appearance
October 7, 2001 for the Seattle Mariners
Career statistics
Win-Loss	51-54
Earned run average	3.71
Strikeouts	808
Saves	97
Teams
Cincinnati Reds (1988–1992) California Angels (1993) Seattle Mariners (1993) Philadelphia Phillies (1995) Seattle Mariners (1995–1997) Baltimore Orioles (1998) Atlanta Braves (1998) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1999) Cincinnati Reds (2000) Seattle Mariners (2001)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1990) All-Star selection (1992)

Norman Wood Charlton III (born January 6, 1963 in Fort Polk, Louisiana), nicknamed "The Sheriff", is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds (1988-1992, 2000), Seattle Mariners (1993, 1995-1997, 2001), Philadelphia Phillies (1995), Baltimore Orioles (1998), Atlanta Braves (1998), and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1999).

Charlton holds three degrees from Rice University.^[1]

The left-handed Charlton was best known as being part of the infamous "Nasty Boys" relief pitching corps for the 1990 Reds team who won the World Series.^[2] Randy Myers and Rob Dibble were the other two members. The Boys were renowned for their clutch, shutdown performances, particularly during the playoff run; their blazing fastballs; and their bruising beanballs. Charlton is also famous in Cincinnati for plowing over a catcher to score a game-winning run.^[3]

Charlton was also a key member of the two most beloved Mariner teams. During the 1995 "Refuse to Lose" team that was the first Mariner team to reach the playoffs, he was the team's closer after a midseason trade. As a member of the 2001 team that won an MLB record 116 games, he was a lefty specialist, fleshing out a bullpen which also featured Japanese closer Kazuhiro Sasaki, Jeff Nelson, and fellow lefty Arthur Rhodes.

Before the 1998 season, Charlton signed a large contract to join the Baltimore Orioles bullpen. His subsequent poor pitching however led to an explosion of his ERA to 6.94. Baltimore was expected to contend in 1998 after having made the playoffs in 1997, but Charlton's lackluster performance was a factor in the Orioles having a losing record. Charlton was released on July 28. He signed with the Braves a few days later.

On October 22, 2007, the Mariners named him their bullpen coach. Charlton's contract, along with those of the remainder of the 2008 coaching staff, was not renewed following the hire of Don Wakamatsu as the club's field manager in November 2008.^[4]

[edit] See also

• List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube