By Mike Szczesny
SPECIAL TO SPORTSNET.CA
DUNEDIN, FL – Daniel Norris believes remembering where you come from is the key to staying humble.
The left hander is the third-ranked prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays’ system, moving through the second year of a pro career that began with a $2-million signing bonus, one roughly four times the amount a second round pick normally receives.
That did not send him out to purchase the latest, most expensive ride. Instead, he took the trip to spring training in his 1978 Volkswagen camper van.
“I drove the van down here, arriving Feb. 2, so I lived in the van for over a month up until a couple days ago and I parked on the causeway every night, slept there and woke up to the waves.
“No amount of money or fame or anything like that can change you as a person if you stay true to yourself.”
Staying true includes:
• Heading to the nearest Florida beach after training to take in some paddle boarding.
• Trying to fix his van after it breaks down in the middle of a road trip, before calling Triple-A and skateboarding to the closest restaurant to grab a bite to eat.
• Free climbing in some mountains with a friend.
Minor-league players face a lot of uncertainty when they begin their professional baseball journeys, and big money contracts might lead to a sense of entitlement. Norris understands that the game itself can keep you grounded.
“Nothing’s going to be handed to you, and I realized that really quickly last year,” says the 6-foot-2, 180 pounder, under a palm tree at the Bobby Mattick Training Centre.
“This game’s going to humble you every day, so once you start to get on your high horse, you see guys hop off a little bit when things don’t start going there way.”
So far, that’s been the case.
Since his 2011 draft, he has spent a year playing for the Bluefield Blue Jays (2-3, 7.97 ERA, 38 strikeouts in 35 innings), then went to A ball at Vancouver where the southpaw was 0-1 with a 10.57 ERA in just under eight innings.
“Last year was a test for me, it was the first time I had to face adversity, and truthfully, on a numbers line, it didn’t look like I had a great year,” said Norris.
“But I learned a lot about myself as a pitcher and as a player and just being able to get better every single day and take that into this year, so I have a good feeling about this year.”
Norris understands that playing professional baseball for a living is a privilege not many get to enjoy, and he reminds himself of that by spending his off-season working at an outdoors store back home in Tennessee.
“I think of my job at the outdoors store in the summer as a job, this is more like play time and for some reason we get paid for it, which is crazy,” said Norris. “I think it’s a blessing to be out here and just enjoy this game that I’ve dreamed of every single day since I was growing up.”
The passion Norris shows for baseball clearly shines through him, and he hopes to enjoy playing the game and remaining humble throughout his entire career.
“I know that I was born with this game in my heart and in my mind and soul, it sounds cliché to say but it’s been everything to me,” said Norris with a smile on his face.
“Hopefully I play this game until I run myself into the dirt.”
