Baseball's Joey Charron Signs Pro Contract With Blue Jays
Jul 19, 2004 | Baseball
July 19, 2004
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Former Tulane University baseball standout Joey Charron has signed a professional contract with the Toronto organization, the Blue Jays announced Monday.
Charron, the Green Wave's closer from 2001-04, set school records for appearances (125) and saves (28), and ranks eighth in strikeouts (242). He was a key member of four consecutive NCAA Regional participants, including the 2001 College World Series squad and the 2004 NCAA Oxford Regional Champions.
He becomes the fourth Tulane student-athlete to join a Major League affiliated organization, and is the third to sign with the Blue Jays as catcher Brian Bormaster and right-handed pitcher Cory Hahn were drafted by Toronto in the 26th and 30th rounds, respectively. Junior outfielder Wes Swackhamer is other Green Wave student-athlete to sign a pro contract, joining the St. Louis Cardinals as a fifth-round pick.
During his career, Charron kept opponents off balance with tremendous command of a changeup that help limit the men he faced to a .255 batting average. In 226.0 innings of work, Charron walked just 91 batters for a 2.66 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 9.63 strikeout-per-nine-inning average.
He earned 18 wins during his career, including nine as a freshman. Three of those wins in 2001 came in the New Orleans Regional when he was named Most Outstanding Player as the Green Wave went on to win the Super Regional over arch-rival LSU at Zephyr Field before earning the school's first bid to the College World Series.
Charron is slated to join the Blue Jay's short-season squad, the Pulaski Blue Jays of the Appalachian League, where he will rejoin former teammates Bormaster and Hahn. For updates on Charron and the rest of the Green Wave's pro players, updated stats are available online at www.baseballamerica.com.
