| Norm Charlton | |
|---|---|
|   | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:January 6, 1963 Fort Polk, Louisiana, U.S. | |
| Batted: Switch Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 19, 1988, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 7, 2001, for the Seattle Mariners | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 51–54 | 
| Earned run average | 3.71 | 
| Strikeouts | 808 | 
| Saves | 97 | 
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Norman Wood Charlton III (born January 6,1963),nicknamed "the Sheriff",is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds,Seattle Mariners,Philadelphia Phillies,Baltimore Orioles,Atlanta Braves,and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Charlton was born in Fort Polk,Louisiana,and graduated from James Madison High School in San Antonio,Texas. He attended Rice University in Houston,Texas,playing for coach David Hall. He set several new Owls records in the sport,including a career ERA of 2.25 and an 11-win season. [1]
 
 The Montreal Expos drafted Charlton with the 28th overall selection in the first round of the 1984 MLB draft. [2] [3]
Charlton was best known as being part of the infamous "Nasty Boys" relief pitching corps for the 1990 Reds team that won the World Series. Randy Myers and Rob Dibble were the other two members. [4] 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 Mike Scioscia to score a run in a nationally televised Sunday night game. [5]
Charlton had three stints with the Seattle Mariners that included some team success. The 1993 Mariners were the first team in franchise history to finish with a winning record. 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. [6] Charlton was a lefty specialist for the 2001 team that won an MLB-record 116 games,fleshing out a bullpen which also featured Japanese closer Kazuhiro Sasaki,Jeff Nelson,and fellow lefty Arthur Rhodes. [7]
On October 22,2007,the Mariners named Charlton as their bullpen coach. After one season,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 manager in November 2008. [8]
Charlton graduated from Rice University in 1986 with a degree in political science. He had enough credits to have also majored in religion or physical education. Charlton's father was also a Rice alumnus,walking on to the university's track and field team,and later worked in the university's physical education department. [1]