Mike Norris (baseball player)
Encyclopedia
Michael Kelvin Norris is a former Major League Baseball
right-handed starting pitcher
who played with the Oakland Athletics
(-).
Norris is best remembered for his spectacular season. He went 22-9 with 24 complete game
s and a 2.53 earned run average
, while also earning the Gold Glove Award
. However, he was not awarded the American League
Cy Young Award
; Steve Stone
of the Baltimore Orioles
, who had a record of 25-7, was given the honor. Norris also placed 15th in the MVP voting.
In , Norris posted a modest 12-9 record, again earning the Gold Glove Award and also earning an All-Star berth he was denied in 1980. Norris spun a complete game shutout in the first round of the playoffs against the Kansas City Royals
and pitched well in the AL Championship Series
against the New York Yankees
despite getting hit with a loss there.
Many believe that Billy Martin
inflicted a heavy workload on Norris, which threw out his arm. He was never able to return to his former stature, and after the 1983 season, he played for the independent San Jose Bees
. He made a brief comeback as a relief pitcher
in 1990, posting an ERA of 3.00 in 27 innings.
An addiction
to cocaine
shortened Norris's playing career. In 1999 he was diagnosed with cervical myelopathy, and he had surgery in January 2000 at the California Pacific Medical Center
. After recovering, Norris took up golf
as a hobby.
Norris was well-known for his distinctive green fielding glove.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
right-handed starting pitcher
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....
who played with the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
(-).
Norris is best remembered for his spectacular season. He went 22-9 with 24 complete game
Complete game
In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...
s and a 2.53 earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
, while also earning the Gold Glove Award
Gold Glove Award
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League and the American League , as voted by the...
. However, he was not awarded the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
; Steve Stone
Steve Stone (baseball player)
Steven Michael Stone is an American former Major League Baseball player, and current sportscaster and author....
of the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
, who had a record of 25-7, was given the honor. Norris also placed 15th in the MVP voting.
In , Norris posted a modest 12-9 record, again earning the Gold Glove Award and also earning an All-Star berth he was denied in 1980. Norris spun a complete game shutout in the first round of the playoffs against the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
and pitched well in the AL Championship Series
1981 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 13, 1981 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkIn Billy Martin's return to Yankee Stadium , the Yankees drew first blood in front of their old skipper...
against the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
despite getting hit with a loss there.
Many believe that Billy Martin
Billy Martin
Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin, Jr. was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager. He is best known as the manager of the New York Yankees, a position he held five different times...
inflicted a heavy workload on Norris, which threw out his arm. He was never able to return to his former stature, and after the 1983 season, he played for the independent San Jose Bees
San Jose Bees
The San Jose Bees refers to two California League teams, one that existed from 1962 to 1976 and one that existed from 1983 to 1987. Based in San Jose, California, they were affiliated with the Los Angeles Angels from 1962 to 1964, the California Angels from 1965 to 1969, the Kansas City Royals from...
. He made a brief comeback as a relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
in 1990, posting an ERA of 3.00 in 27 innings.
An addiction
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
to cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
shortened Norris's playing career. In 1999 he was diagnosed with cervical myelopathy, and he had surgery in January 2000 at the California Pacific Medical Center
California Pacific Medical Center
California Pacific Medical Center is one of the largest private, non-profit, academic medical centers in Northern California. The Medical Center is a combination of four of San Francisco's oldest medical institutions: Pacific Presbyterian Hospital, Children's Hospital of San Francisco, Davies...
. After recovering, Norris took up golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
as a hobby.
Norris was well-known for his distinctive green fielding glove.