BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : BASEBALL / ROSS NEWHAN : Charlton Cheered, Then Gets Nasty

Randy Johnson walked off, Norm Charlton walked in and a crowd of 43,643 suddenly smelled a walkover, cheering the departure of the dominating Seattle Mariner starting pitcher from a game that was tied, 2-2, in the bottom of the ninth inning.

“If I’m rooting for the [Cleveland] Indians or sitting in their dugout, I’m going to cheer too,” Charlton said.

“You have to be happy to get Randy Johnson out of the game because your chances of winning having suddenly gone up. I mean, I don’t care who’s coming in--Dennis Eckersley, anyone.

“It’s not that I’m not proud of what I’ve done and what I can do, it’s just that Randy is a step above anyone else.”

Perhaps, but Charlton responded with another in a series of performances that left Manager Lou Piniella saying, “We wouldn’t be here without Norm. No way. Absolutely not.”

Charlton held the potent Indians hitless over the final three innings to enable the Mariners to win, 5-2, on Jay Buhner’s three-run homer in the 11th.

Seattle leads the American League’s best-of-seven championship series, 2-1, and Charlton said the Indians, who may not have lost to the Mariner ace but still lost, have to be a little deflated.

“I think the momentum is definitely in our dugout,” he said. “At least for tonight.”

That Charlton helped put it there, that he helped put the Mariners where they are, represents an extraordinary comeback from two major elbow operations and a full season (1994) on the sidelines.

Once one of the Cincinnati Reds’ Nasty Boys--as he and bullpen mates Rob Dibble and Randy Myers were called in reference to their stuff and disposition--Charlton has regained the form that produced 26 saves with the Reds in ’92 and 18 more with the Mariners in 1993, when the elbow problems surfaced.

The 32-year-old left-hander was ultimately released, spent a year in recovery from the operations, came back with the Phillies this season, was released with a 2-5 record and 7.36 ERA on July 10 and re-signed with the Mariners four days later after a 10-pitch tryout at the Kingdome.

“I had him for three years when I managed the Reds. I traded for him after I came to Seattle [in ‘93], and all I wanted to see was if he was healthy,” Piniella said of that brief trial. “I called [General Manager] Woody Woodward and said, ‘Let’s get this young man signed.’

“I couldn’t anticipate he’d do what he’s done, but I know what kind of competitor he is and what kind of stuff he has.”

Piniella said he thought Charlton could be his left-handed middle reliever, but when Bobby Ayala began to falter, Charlton again became a closer.

He converted 14 of his 15 opportunities, holding American League hitters to a .143 batting average.

He appeared in four games during the division series victory over the New York Yankees, giving up two runs and four hits in 7 1/3 innings.

Against the Indians, he saved Game 1 and won Game 3, pitching a total of 4 1/3 scoreless innings.

With ice strapped to his shoulder and elbow later, Charlton said he has persisted and survived through his physical problems and the disappointment--at the time--of his release in Philadelphia by adopting a simple attitude.

“I’ve had a good career,” he said. “If it was over, or if I were to blow the elbow out again tomorrow, I could go back to my ranch, ride horses and be as happy as I am here.

“At the same time, I take pride in doing whatever Lou wants me to do--whether it’s a third of an inning, or going in in the sixth and pitching four innings as a I did in New York or what I did tonight.

“I’ve lost a couple miles per hour of velocity, but my stuff is pretty close to what it was in Cincinnati. I expect to succeed every time he needs me.”

Charlton said he credits Piniella for putting him in the right situations and pitching coach Bobby Cuellar for adjusting his mechanics after he pitched poorly in his half a season with the Phillies.

“I didn’t pitch well, but it was strictly mechanical,” he said. “I had proved that my arm was healthy. I was very surprised they released me, and I think every player on that team would say they were surprised. The Phillies said it wasn’t a case of money, but I had a half million [dollars] in bonuses coming up and they obviously felt they could get someone cheaper. I was angry at the time, but I’m very happy now they made the decision.”

So are the Mariners. Piniella allowed Johnson to take the mound in the ninth inning and warm up, but only to give Charlton more time in the bullpen.

“Randy had thrown 100 pitches,” Piniella said. “He’s pitched a lot of baseball recently. This was a maximum-intensity game, and he was a little tired. We knew we were going to make the change when Randy went to the mound.”

The crowd at Jacobs Field cheered the change, but not for long.