Charlton Breaks Norm, Wins On 3 Hours’ Rest
Norm Charlton was on the road Friday morning, headed toward Washington, D.C.
His brother, Craig, was graduating from the Secret Service Academy, and Charlton had to be there.
With a little more than 3 hours’ sleep, Charlton walked to the mound in Camden Yards Friday night and struck out the side in the ninth inning to save Seattle’s 4-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
“He has that late-inning demeanor,” manager Lou Piniella said. “He’s tough as nails.”
“I’m done,” Charlton said, beaming and sipping a cold beer. “A long day. A good day.”
There is nothing the left-hander loves more than family and save opportunities, unless it is a dark sense of humor he shares with teammates like Jay Buhner.
No sooner had the team filed off the field with a victory that kept it tied for first place in the wild-card race - and inched the Mariners 6-1/2 games behind the California Angels in the American League West - than Charlton and Company had started a pool for today’s game.
“How sick are these guys?” bellowed Chris Bosio, who took a ground ball off the chin two nights earlier. “They’ve got a pool going to see which inning I get hit in!”
Winning loosens a team up. And Charlton has been a big part of that for the Mariners.
Joey Cora and Dan Wilson hit solo home runs against Baltimore ace Mike Mussina, with Cora driving in a second run with a single and Felix Fermin pushing home an RBI with a sharp grounder. Tim Belcher (9-9) went a toughi 6-1/3 innings.
And in the end, when the Orioles had come within a run, it was Charlton on the mound, where he likes to think he belongs late in a close game.
“If you’re a starting pitcher, you want to go all the way,” he said. “If you’re a reliever, you want the ninth inning.”
Released by Philadelphia in July, Charlton called Seattle and asked for a tryout. General manager Woody Woodward asked Piniella to watch Charlton throw.
Piniella did.
“That’s my best talent evaluation,” Piniella remembered Friday. “I saw him throw 10 pitches and called Woody. I said, ‘Get him signed.’ We got him signed.”
That was June 14. Since then, Charlton has saved four games and, in 17 appearances, put together a 1.53 earned run average.
“I didn’t want to go to him as early as we did, and now I’ve lost him until Sunday,” Piniella said. “But I wanted this game.”
Translated: He didn’t want it slipping away, as too many have this season. The Mariners have blown 19 save opportunities this year, and still find themselves in the playoff race with a 60-57 record.
“You don’t have to get too much more motivated to play than to look at the standings,” Wilson said.