Norm Charlton is moving furniture into his new log cabin near Cle Elum this week, an endeavor that has convinced him of one thing.
“I know it’s a lot easier to pitch to major league hitters,” Charlton said on his cell phone Tuesday as he made his way over Snoqualmie Pass on one of several trips hauling the household goods.
Charlton needs to complete that task soon because he’s got something else to finish: his baseball career.
Despite operations on his left shoulder the past two winters and a 41st birthday that is less than a month away, Charlton wants to pitch again. He will pick up a baseball next week and begin the process of learning if he ever will.
Mentally, he’s already at full strength.
“There is no doubt in my mind that if my shoulder is healed well enough for me to pitch at the major league level, that’s what I want to do,” said Charlton, a 13-year major leaguer who last pitched for the Seattle Mariners in 2001. “Even if it means I have to pitch in Triple-A for a month to prove to somebody that it’s going to hold up, I’m willing to do that.”
Charlton has endured almost two years of painful rehab, having undergone surgery Feb. 1, 2002, to repair a torn rotator cuff, then another operation last March to fix a torn anterior capsule.
“It seems like the older I get, the harder it is to rehab and more it hurts doing everyday stuff,” Charlton said. “I’m still climbing.”
There aren’t many who believe Charlton will make it all the way back. But then, he proved people wrong years ago when he came back from “Tommy John” elbow surgery in 1995 after missing more than a year, and again three years ago when he ended a one-year retirement and starred in the Mariners bullpen in 2001.
“He’s had two pretty significant surgeries and he’s missed two years of pitching, plus he’s 40 years old,” Seattle Mariners trainer Rick Griffin said. “He’s got everything stacked against him. But … “
But?
“You’re talking about Norm Charlton,” Griffin added.
Charlton, who turns 41 on Jan. 6, said he’ll know after about three weeks of throwing if the shoulder will hold up. He’ll begin throwing short distances, 60-70 feet, then back up to about 120 feet.
“Usually if there are any defects, they will show up then,” he said. “If it’s still messed up, then I’ll know before I get to throwing full speed.”
Charlton isn’t thinking that way now.
He wants to be at full strength by mid-February, when pitchers and catchers report to spring training, and hopes some team will give him a chance.
“I’ve told my agent to put my name out there,” Charlton said. “We’ve told them that I have not completed a throwing program yet, but to just keep my name in the back of their minds. We’ll know shortly after Christmas whether my shoulder will withstand the rigors. Nobody’s going to sign me without me being able to throw. I know I sure wouldn’t.”
Charlton’s first choice is to pitch for the team that could use another left-handed reliever, the Mariners.
“That would be my ideal spot,” he said. “I would love to pitch for the Mariners. My wife (Brenda) is from Seattle and we’ve got a home here. But if that opportunity is not there, then it will have to be somewhere else.”
And if the comeback doesn’t work?
Charlton would like to work with minor league pitchers again like he did last summer as a roaving pitching instructor for the Mariners.
“I really enjoyed what I was doing last year,” he said. “I hope I brought some wisdom to some of the guys. If it doesn’t work to pitch again, I would like to pursue something along the lines of what I did with the Mariners last year. That’s pretty much what Plan B is right now. But … “
But?
“We’re hoping Plan A works first.”
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