Jimerson's bid to make Mariners only the latest challenge in his life

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) -- It is not surprising that Charlton Jimerson is trying to run his way onto the Mariners.

Jimerson has been ignoring stop signs his entire life

"It's something I've proven to be able to do -- at all levels, "the 28-year-old said of his attempt to make his first major league team out of spring training, 12 months after he was unemployed and calling teams using a directory from a magazine.

His mother abandoned him for crack cocaine. His father left before that. His sister, Lanette, got a court order to raise him and his brother in and around Oakland, Calif., when she was 19.

Jimerson applied to the University of Miami on academic merit after he saw a "commercial, a real good commercial" about the school, its beach and its sun. Click here to continue reading...