Cooperstown Crier

"Chuck has been in the Braves farm system for the past four years, and this year he kept making all the cuts during spring training and he eventually made the Opening Day roster," Elinor Rathbun said while watching the New York Mets and Braves play Monday night. "We're all so proud of him, it's quite an accomplishment."

During Monday's game, a 4-3 Mets win, James relieved Braves starter Jorge Sosa in the bottom of the fifth inning with two runners on and no outs. He struck out Carlos Delgado, got David Wright to bounce into a force play, and retired Jose Valentin on a fly to right to get out of the jam. James then pitched a scoreless sixth inning, and allowed one hit and struck out two in his two innings of work.

"He's one of the most highly regarded starting pitching prospects the Braves have," a Mets announcer said of James during the game.

James attended Chattahoochee Valley Community College in Alabama on a baseball scholarship after graduating from high school in Georgia, and planned on attending a four-year school after graduation. The Braves then selected him in the 20th round of the June 2002 draft and offered him a contract.

"The Braves wanted to sign him but he turned them down," Rathbun said. "But then they offered him more money and he agreed. I guess they really wanted him to sign."

James has appeared in two games this season, and has a 1.59 earned run average.

His combined minor league totals included a 13-7 record with a 2.12 ERA, 193 strikeouts and 161.1 inning pitched in 29 games (all starts). Last year, he received the Phil Niekro Award, given annually to the top pitcher in the Braves' minor league system, and he was tabbed as the Braves' top pitching prospect by Sports Weekly and the seventh-best prospect by Baseball America.

There's no telling if James' career will lead him back to Cooperstown some day, but in the meantime the Braves have a new fan.

"I used to like the Yankees, especially when I was younger," Rathbun said. "But I'm a Braves fan now."