Norman Wood Charlton III (born January 6, 1963), nicknamed "The Sheriff", is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

, and

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

Early life

Charlton was born in Fort Polk, Louisiana, and graduated from James Madison High School in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

. He attended

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, playing for coach David Hall, before being drafted by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...

with the 28th pick in the first round of the 1984 MLB June Amateur Draft.

Professional playing career

The

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

Charlton was best known as being part of the infamous "Nasty Boys" relief pitching corps for the Reds team who won the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

. Randy Myers and

Rob Dibble Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ( ...

were the other two members. The Boys were renowned for their clutch, shutdown performances, particularly during the playoff run; their blazing

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

s; and their bruising beanballs. Charlton is also famous in Cincinnati for plowing over

Mike Scioscia Michael Lorri Scioscia (, ; born November 27, 1958), nicknamed "Sosh" and "El Jefe", is an American former Major League Baseball catcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He managed the Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim / Los An ...

to score a run in a nationally televised Sunday night game. 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 The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, he was the team's closer after a midseason trade. As a member of the 2001 team that won an MLB record 116 games, Charlton was a lefty specialist, fleshing out a

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

which also featured Japanese closer Kazuhiro Sasaki, Jeff Nelson, and fellow lefty Arthur Rhodes. Before the 1998 season, Charlton signed a contract to join the

bullpen. He was released on July 28. Charlton signed with the Braves a few days later.

Coaching career

On October 22, 2007, the Mariners named Charlton as their

bullpen coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

. His 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.

Personal life

Charlton graduated from

in 1986 with political science major, but had enough credit hours to have also majored in religion or physical education. While at Rice, he played baseball for the Rice Owls and set multiple new university records in the sport, including a career ERA of 2.25 and an 11-win season. Charlton's father was also a Rice alumnus, had been an athlete there, and had worked in the university's physical education department.

References

External links

Norm Charlton
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)] {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlton, Norm 1963 births Living people Atlanta Braves players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Louisiana Baseball players from San Antonio Cincinnati Reds players Durham Bulls players Louisville RiverBats players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball coaches Nashville Sounds players National League All-Stars People from Vernon Parish, Louisiana Philadelphia Phillies players Rice Owls baseball players Rice University alumni Richmond Braves players Seattle Mariners coaches Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Vermont Reds players West Palm Beach Expos players