Our last alumni report features a fan favorite, Charlie Markson. Charlie is from Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin and played college baseball at the University of Notre Dame. He is currently in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system. This timeline of events may sound familiar as Markson is following in the footsteps of another native of Whitefish Bay, Craig Counsell. Counsell also grew up in Whitefish Bay, attended Notre Dame, and played for the Milwaukee Brewers on two occasions. Craig also remains with the Brewers organization, serving as Special Assistant to General Manager Doug Melvin and is also a host family for the Lakeshore Chinooks. Markson is currently striving to have the same success as Counsell has had and is well on his way to reaching his goal of playing professional baseball.
Before he played ball for the Fighting Irish, Markson had quite the career at Whitefish Bay High School. He was a four year letter winner and ended his senior year with a .486 batting average and a .608 on-base percentage. He was also selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 44th round of the 2009 MLB Draft but opted to attend college before heading to the pros.
Markson began his playing career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2010. As a freshman, he appeared in 15 games–4 of which were starts–and finished the season with a .250 batting average. Charlie would see more time as a sophomore, as he started in 14 games and appeared in a total of 32 games. His batting average would dip a little to .244. His junior year in 2012 would go on to be his best while playing for Notre Dame. Markson started 51 of the 53 games that he appeared in and ended his season with a .303 batting average. He collected 53 hits, 30 runs, 2 HR’s, and 20 RBI’s.
After his junior season for the Fighting Irish, Charlie would join the Chinooks inaugural season roster in 2012. Markson played in 63 of the Chinooks 75 games during their first season. Charlie will go down in the Chinooks record books as the first player to record a hit in franchise history. Markson accomplished this in his first at bat against the Green Bay Bullfrogs during the season opener in 2012. Charlie spent a majority of his time playing in the outfield. On July 11th, Markson made a spectacular catch in which he chased a fly ball from deep left field to the visiting team bullpen, hitting the wall at full speed. Markson was able to catch and hang on to the ball while flipping over the wall. His catch was ranked the #2 best moment from the 2012 season. Markson ended his Chinooks career with a .255 batting average. He was responsible for 59 hits, 37 runs, 2 HR’s, 20 RBI’s, and 14 stolen bases.
On May 30th, Chinooks opening day in 2013, Markson was awarded the first ever Robin Yount Award, which was presented by Robin Yount himself. Robin Yount was known throughout his career for playing the game with hustle, passion, determination, and professionalism as well as being a gentleman off the field. Each year, a player from the Chinooks that exemplifies these qualities is selected to receive the Robin Yount Award. Nobody on the inaugural Chinooks roster embodied all of these qualities quite like Charlie Markson.
Markson would return the following spring to Notre Dame for his senior year. He finished his season with a .209 batting average and collected 40 hits, 29 runs, and 21 RBI’s.
This past June, Charlie was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in 38th Round (1,142 overall) of the 2013 MLB Draft. Markson would report to the Helena Brewers, who belong to the rookie ball Pioneer League. He had a very successful rookie season, appearing in 46 games. He would end his season with a .288 batting average, collecting 51 hits, 35 runs, and 21 RBI’s. He was third on the team in doubles with 12 as well as third on the team in stolen bases with eight. The Helena Brewers ended their season with a 43-33 record and were the first half champions. The Brewers made it to the championship game in the Pioneer League but came up short against the Idaho Falls Chukars.
Baseball fans in southeastern Wisconsin are very familiar with the name Charlie Markson and look forward to the possibility of one day seeing him take the field at Miller Park as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Lakeshore Chinooks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21stseason of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including MLB All-Stars Max Scherzer (DET), Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYY), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live and free of charge via the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit lakeshorechinooks.com.
