According to Baseball America, left-hander Daniel Norris, who by the way has an outside chance of breaking into the Blue Jays’ rotation this spring, ranks as Toronto’s No. 1 prospect; even better, he’s probably among the 20 best prospects in all of baseball.
As the Jays’ top prospect, Norris gets the full-page treatment in BA’s Prospect Handbook, and of course it’s a glowing report. Oddly, though, there’s not a single mention in the report of Norris’s personality ... which might be the most interesting thing about him.
Granted, I had no idea until I read this ESPN.com story about him ...
This is where Norris has chosen to live while he tries to win a job in the Blue Jays' rotation: in a broken-down van parked under the blue fluorescent lights of a Wal-Mart in the Florida suburbs. There, every morning, is one of baseball's top-ranked prospects, doing pull-ups and resistance exercises on abandoned grocery carts. There he is each evening, making French press coffee and organic stir-fry on his portable stove. There he is at night, wearing a spelunking headlamp to go with his unkempt beard, writing in his "thought journal" or rereading Kerouac.
--snip--
He has always lived by his own code, no matter what anyone thinks: a three-sport star athlete in high school who spent weekends camping alone; a hippie who has never tried drugs; a major league pitcher whose first corporate relationship was with an environmental organization called 1% for the Planet. He is 21 and says he has never tasted alcohol. He has had one serious relationship, with his high school girlfriend, and it ended in part because he wanted more time to travel by himself. He was baptized in his baseball uniform. His newest surfboard is made from recycled foam. His van is equipped with a solar panel. He reads hardcover books and never a Kindle. He avoids TV and studies photography journals instead.
"Nonconformist," reads one sign posted inside his VW.
After I tweeted out the link to this story – and as usual, I highly recommend that you actually read the whole thing – I was struck by a couple of (related) responses in my Twitter feed...
@robneyer Love the story, but serious question: should Jays be worried about nutrition/rest?
— Haris H. (@kingharis) March 5, 2015
and
@robneyer Great story, but sadly the moment he struggles people will claim it's somehow because of his lifestyle.
— Will (@whinson42) March 5, 2015
Should the Jays be worried about Norris’s nutrition and rest? Well, sure ... Just as they should be worried about those things with all their players, and especially their younger players. But let’s be honest! Generally speaking, teams have done a TERRIBLE job in these areas for the huge majority of history. The meal money for minor leaguers has traditionally been terrible, the food in the locker rooms scurrilous. Teams have done little to prevent or discourage young players (or old) from going out every night and pounding those Budweisers (or worse). Granted, things have probably gotten a lot better in recent years, as more logical heads have come to run front offices. But if we’re talking about a typical organization, I would probably be thrilled if my top prospect was going his own way. Because the old ways are pretty crummy.
If Norris struggles, will people blame it on his unorthodox lifestyle? Sure. Some people will. But things really are changing. There will always be teams that don’t want the Daniel Norrises and the Trevor Bauers of the world. But there are more and more teams that do want them.
Which is a wonderful thing. It’s wonderful for the players who might look at themselves and the world in a slightly different way, and it’s wonderful for those of us who find players like Daniel Norris and Trevor Bauer so refreshing.
We all love seeing the flowers pop up again, as they do every spring. But spring’s even better when some of the flowers surprise us.
