Charlton Jimerson

Great story on the Astros AAA farmhand. He's an easy guy to root for; amazing talent & the potential's there to be a Mike Cameron/Torii Hunter type player. He's already in their class in center field.

ROUND ROCK — Charlton Jimerson doesn't mind discussing his turbulent childhood.

The Round Rock Express' leadoff hitter will tell you his mother had chronic personal issues.

He won't sugarcoat his relationship, or lack of one, with his father, who was never a factor in his life.

Mostly, though, he'll tell you about the big sister who — though only five years older — became his protector when he was a teen, steering him to college and now a promising career as a professional baseball player.

"The focus is not on my mom or my dad; it is on my sister," Jimerson said. "My family is full of problems. What was special about (his childhood) was the fact that my sister was the one who allowed me to be where I'm at. . . . It wasn't what was wrong; it's what was good."

Lanette, now 31, fulfilled the big sister role to a T during Charlton's adolescent days in Hayward, Calif.

"Because we didn't have the necessary parental direction that we should have had," Lanette says, she took it upon herself — with some help from older brother Derell — to raise Charlton and his younger brother, Terrance. To do so, she took on two jobs while also going to school at Cal State University-Hayward.

"She helped me in school, which led to my baseball," Charlton Jimerson said. "You know how you always hear about people who didn't take the SATs or they were so good but this, but that? She eliminated the buts."

Lanette fought for custody of Charlton and Terrance when she was 18 and a freshman in college. Because Lanette was too young to gain custody at the time, a social worker told her that Derell, who was 21, could legally take Charlton. Derell obliged, and Charlton lived with him for a year until Lanette gained custody of Terrance after an eight-month court battle, during which Terrance lived in a foster home.

"I didn't know where my mom was at that time," Lanette said.

Her endless pursuit for the betterment of the family paid off when she, Charlton and Terrance finally moved in together.

"She allowed my goals and standards and dreams to be set much higher and to be attainable because she was laying down the blueprint," Jimerson said.

The three lived together until Charlton and Terrance left for college.

Lanette became a seventh-grade teacher and is now waiting to attend graduate school at the University of California at Berkeley. Terrance is a sophomore at Syracuse University, where he tried out but didn't make the basketball team. Derell is working in warehouse management in Hayward, Calif. Another brother, 33-year-old Eugene, "is still trying to find himself," Lanette said.

As for Charlton, he bats in the leadoff spot for the Express and is tied for the Pacific Coast League with four triples. He has hit three of the longest home runs seen at Dell Diamond, all estimated at more than 500 feet.

After spending most of last season with Double-A Corpus Christi, Jimerson made his major-league debut with the Astros on Sept. 14, 2005. In his brief stay in Houston, Jimerson appeared in only one game as a defensive replacement in center field and didn't bat.

"CJ is very high on our list of players in our organization," Astros General Manager Tim Purpura said. "We feel like he has the potential to be a five-tool player."

The Astros drafted Jimerson out of high school in the 24th round — but "only because I was friends with an Astros scout who owned batting cages in my hometown," Jimerson said. "It's not like someone came to scout me."

He passed on pro ball at the time to pursue a computer science degree at the University of Miami, where he arrived on an academic scholarship with hopes of also playing college baseball. Trouble was, Hurricanes coach Jim Morris didn't know much about him.

"I didn't have a clue of who he was," recalled Morris. "He came in one day and wanted to know the procedure to try out. Toward the end, he said, 'Oh, by the way, I was drafted in the 24th round,' and I told him, 'Why didn't you tell me that earlier?' "

Jimerson made the team as a walk-on.

After three seasons spent mostly on the bench, Jimerson found a spot in the Miami outfield, along with current Express teammate Mike Rodriguez.

Jimerson flourished at the 2001 College World Series, batting .333 with two home runs and seven stolen bases as Miami won the title and Jimerson was named the most outstanding player.

Before that College World Series ended, the Astros drafted Jimerson again, this time in the fifth round.

He played in 115 games for Corpus Christi last season, hitting .259 with 16 home runs, 44 runs batted in and 27 stolen bases.

This season with the Express, Jimerson has been thrust into the leadoff role for the first time since his senior season at Miami. While he likes the fact that leading off keeps him on his toes, he doesn't necessarily consider himself a conventional leadoff hitter.

"If you are looking for a guy who is trying to draw walks and hit the ball on the ground, (that's not me)," Jimerson said. "I know the Astros have their leadoff hitter set. I don't worry about being the leadoff hitter for the Astros. (But) who knows? We will have some fun with it and see what happens."

Round Rock manager Jackie Moore wants to see Jimerson put the ball in play more frequently. Jimerson is second in the Pacific Coast League with 47 strikeouts and has topped 150 strikeouts in each of his past two minor-league seasons.

"I know that the organization feels, and he does also, that it's all about contact," Moore said. "Once he starts making better contact, everything else will fall in place."

With the other obstacles he has overcome, Jimerson expects that part of his game to improve with time. "My sister and my family kept reminding me that even if I didn't make it to the major leagues, you have done good for yourself," he said. "But I am here. I might as well try to make it."

 

forgot linky thing:

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/express/05/9jimerson.html

 

Easy now.