By Ryan Glasspiegel
Welcome, Sage! (outerknown.com)
After being engaged on January 13th, Sage Erickson, a 31-year-old surfer, and
Daniel Norris, a veteran Major League lefty reliever and dating for over 2 years prior.
Sliding into each other in an Instagram DM. Instagram suggested three people to follow when you’re browsing, and he was one of them.” Erickson revealed she followed Norris
on the platform as a suggestion from the algorithm, then made the plunge to slide into
his DMs when she saw he posted a photo of a surfboard.
“I love him, and I love that we’re both athletes.
“If Ever” – Paula Fuga with Jack Johnson (featuring Ben Harper) – Lyric Video
We can understand what we go through,” Erickson said. “We very much understand
long distance. We understand wins and losses and ups and downs and staying positive
and we’re probably both a little bit crazy at this point from our sports, while trying to
adapt and stay on it.”
She also complimented his surfing prowess.
“That was something also that I fell in love with is that he rips and he surfs really
well and he knows so much about board design,” Sage said. “He’s got such a great
style. It’s been an amazing thing for us to share.
We love catching party waves together.”
Getting lost in & out of the water.
Sage Erickson and Daniel Norris Love surfing together.
Erickson is a two-time gold medalist in the U.S. Open of Surfing.
Norris, 29, broke into MLB in 2014; he pitched for the Blue Jays,
Tigers and Brewers before joining the Cubs last season.
Daniel Norris Rookie 2015 Topps Bowman Chrome
Daniel Norris | Off the Field – YouTube
Daniel Norris | On The Field – YouTube
Daniel Norris Documentary – An Inside Look
Julian Cope – Revolutionary Suicide (2013)
Sturgill Simpson – Call To Arms [Live on SNL]
“The Stable Song” – Gregory Alan Isakov —
with the Colorado Symphony (official video)
2011–2012
The Blue Jays drafted Norris in the second round (74th overall) of the 2011 MLB.
Draft.[1] Baseball America rated Norris as the 91st best prospect in baseball prior to the
2012 season.[2] He was ranked as the number 4 prospect in the Blue Jays minor league organization on July 26, 2013, when the revised Top 100 Prospects list was released.[3]
Norris began his career with the Rookie-Advanced Bluefield Blue Jays and also Low-A Vancouver Canadians in 2012, where he pitched to a combined 2–4 record, earned run average (ERA) of 8.44, and a 1.78 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) ratio.[4]
2013–2014
In 2013, Norris split time with the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts and High-A Dunedin Blue Jays, and finished the season with a 2–7 record, but made a major improvement with his ERA, which dropped to 3.97.[5]
Norris began the 2014 season in Dunedin, and earned a 3–0 record with an ERA of 0.80 through his first 9 starts.[6] On June 3, 2014, he was announced as the Pipeline Pitching Prospect of the Month of May. He posted a 1–0 record and a 0.68 ERA over 5 starts to
win the award.[7] On June 15, he was called up to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats after posting a 6–0 record, 1.22 ERA, and 1.025 WHIP in 13 starts with Dunedin.[8] Norris appeared in the 2014 All-Star Futures Game on June 24, 2014.[9]
As of the 2014 midseason update, he was considered the Blue Jays’ top prospect,
and 25th overall prospect in baseball-by-Baseball America.[10] With New Hampshire, Norris had a 3–1 win–loss record, 4.54 ERA, and struck out 49 in 352⁄3 innings before
he was promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on August 7.[11]
Making his Triple-A debut pitching in the first game of a double-header on August 10, Norris earned the win, pitching six innings against the Durham Bulls and gave up only
two hits while striking out 10, including Wil Myers, on a rehabilitation assignment for the Tampa Bay Rays.[12] In his following start, he also struck out a career-high 13 over 52⁄3 innings, making him the first pitcher in Bisons history to have back-to-back starts
with at least 10 strikeouts.[13][14]
Norris pitched five innings and earned his third win in three tries on August 21,
against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. He struck out nine, walked three,
and gave up one hit, a home run.[15]
While speculation circulated that the Blue Jays intended to move Norris to the bullpen following his third Triple-A start, they instead announced on August 22 that he would continue in a starter’s role.[16] In total for 2014, he posted a 12–2 record with a 2.53 ERA and 163 strikeouts over 1242⁄3 innings.[17] On September 3, Baseball America named him
to their First Team All-Stars for 2014.[18] He was named to the MLB All-Prospect Team
on September 26.[19]
Major league career
Toronto Blue Jays (2014–2015)
Norris with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015
On September 1, 2014, Norris was called up to the Blue Jays as part of the September roster expansion.[17] On September 5, he made his MLB debut against the Boston Red Sox, striking out David Ortiz.[20] Blue Jays manager John Gibbons announced on September 23 that Norris would make his first major league start on September 25, and would pitch 2–3 innings.[21] Norris pitched 31⁄3 innings and yielded 2 earned runs on 1 hit, 2 walks, while striking out 1. In total for 2014, Norris pitched 62⁄3 innings with the Blue Jays, and posted a 5.40 ERA, 4 strikeouts, and a 1.50 WHIP.
Norris had arthroscopic surgery on October 7, 2014, to remove bone spurs and loose bodies from his left (pitching) elbow.[22] On January 21, 2015, Norris was named by MLB as the third-best LHP prospect in baseball.[23] In 2015, MLB named Norris the number 1 Blue Jays’ prospect,[24] the number 3 left-handed pitching prospect in baseball,[23] and the 17th best prospect overall.[25] He opened the 2015 season in the starting rotation for the Blue Jays. After his fifth start, Norris was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on May 1.[26]
Detroit Tigers 2015
On July 30, 2015, Norris was traded to the Detroit Tigers along with Matt Boyd and
Jairo Labourt in exchange for David Price.[27][28] In his debut for the Tigers on August 2, Norris pitched 71⁄3 innings and struck out five Baltimore Orioles hitters, allowing one walk, four hits, and just one earned run on a solo home run by Chris Davis in the fourth inning. Following the home run to Davis, Norris retired the next 12 batters in a row, earning the win in a 6–1 Tigers victory.[29]
On August 19, 2015, Norris became the first Tigers pitcher to hit a home run in his first career plate appearance, the first pitcher to do so since Tommy Milone in 2011, and the first American League pitcher to do so since Esteban Yan in 2000.
He also became the first Tigers pitcher to homer since Jason Johnson did so on June 8, 2005, and the first American League pitcher to ever hit a regular-season home run at Wrigley Field.[30] Norris exited the game in the fifth inning with a right oblique strain and was placed on the disabled list the following day.[31]
Norris was recalled from the disabled list on September 16. In his second start after returning from the injury, he threw five perfect innings in a September 22 game against the Chicago White Sox, but was pulled from the game after reaching a predetermined pitch count. The Tigers eventually lost the bid for a combined no-hitter with one out in the ninth inning when Neftali Feliz, the fifth pitcher used, surrendered a triple to Tyler Saladino.[32]
Norris finished the 2015 season (combined stats between Toronto and Detroit) with a
3-2 record in 13 starts, while compiling a 3.75 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 60 innings.
SEE ALSO
Baseball portalList of Major League Baseball players with a home run in their first major league at bat
October 29, 2015
DETROIT — Daniel Norris said he’s cancer-free after undergoing surgery for a cancerous growth on his thyroid. Norris made the announcement on his Instagram account, posting a photo of himself with the scar from the procedure. “I just want to thank everyone for the thoughts and prayers,” Norris posted. “Surgery was successful and I am Cancer Free.”
The post comes 10 days after Norris announced on Instagram that he had been diagnosed with a cancerous growth on his thyroid earlier in the season, before he’d been traded from the Blue Jays to the Tigers on July 30. Tigers general manager Al Avila said the team was aware of Norris’ situation at the time of the deal.
“This is a personal matter with Daniel,” Avila said earlier this month. “Yes, we did know about it before the trade. We expect him to have a full recovery and be with us in Spring Training.” Norris kept pitching through the season after a second opinion determined he could wait until season’s end to have surgery.
Norris not only kept pitching, he pitched well with the Tigers.
He became the first American League pitcher to hit a home run at Wrigley Field during
an Interleague game against the Cubs in August, before going on the disabled list with
an oblique strain. He returned to make four starts in September, including 10 scoreless
innings over two starts against the White Sox.
“Baseball kept me sane,” Norris posted Oct. 19 on Instagram. “Regardless of results on
the field, I forgot about it when I was between the lines. After all, I was just trying to get
the heck out of AAA. And I did. I was revived with an opportunity, a blessing from God,
with the Tigers back in the big leagues.”
According to the American Cancer Society website, the five-year relative survival rate is high for people diagnosed with thyroid cancer in its early stages — near 100 percent for Stages I and II. Even the stage III survival rate is high, depending on the type of thyroid cancer.
2016
On March 24, 2016, the Tigers announced that Norris would start the 2016 season on the disabled list, due to a lower back issue suffered during spring training.[33] He was recalled to the Tigers on May 11, 2016, but made only a one-inning appearance against the Baltimore Orioles on May 12 before being returned to AAA Toledo. Norris was recalled again on June 21 following the demotion of Matt Boyd, and made his first start of the 2016 season on June 23.[34] After pitching two innings plus one batter in a July 4 start against the Cleveland Indians, Norris was removed from the game.
He was later diagnosed with an oblique strain, the same injury he suffered in late 2015, and was placed on the disabled list for the third time in his career.[35] Norris returned to the mound for the Tigers on August 9 to start a game against the Seattle Mariners.[36]
In a September 12 game against the Minnesota Twins, Norris struck out a career-high 11 batters in just 6+1⁄3 innings.[37] Norris made 13 starts for the Tigers in 2016, finishing the season with a 4–2 record and a 3.38 ERA, while striking out 71 batters in 69+1⁄3 innings.
Tigers’ Daniel Norris isn’t alone with ‘dead arm’ (detroitnews.com)
Detroit Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris keeps sanity, begins rehab stint (freep.com)
2017
Although he logged the most innings of his young career (101+2⁄3), Norris took a step backward in 2017, posting a 5–8 record and a 5.31 ERA while striking out 86 batters. Norris dealt with hip and quadriceps issues during the season, and admitted he dug a “deeper hole” by trying to come back too soon from a DL stint.[38]
2018
Norris started the season in the bullpen as a long reliever.
He made a spot start on April 29. came out of the game in the 3rd inning with groin tightness, which he has been dealing with since 2017. He was placed on the 10-day disabled list the next day which marked the fourth straight season on the DL since
the Tigers acquired him.[39]
It was announced a day later that the injury would require surgery and Norris will miss
8 to 12 weeks. He was moved to the 60-day disabled list on May 8.[40] Norris returned from the disabled list on September 1, but came out of the game in the fifth inning with a left leg injury right after giving up a 2-run home run which earned him the loss.
The home run was the only hit he gave up that game.[41] During the 2018 season,
Norris failed to earn a win in eight starts and three relief appearances, going 0–5 with a 5.68 ERA.
2019
On January 11, 2019, the Tigers avoided arbitration with Norris, agreeing on a one-year, $1.275 million contract.[42] Norris ended the season with a 3-13 record despite setting career highs in games (32), starts (29), innings (144+1⁄3) and strikeouts (125).
In the latter part of the season, the Tigers limited Norris to three innings
per start in an effort to manage his workload.
2020
On January 10, 2020, the Tigers avoided arbitration with Norris, agreeing on a one-year contract worth $2,962,500.[43] On July 9, 2020, it was announced that Norris had tested positive for COVID-19.[44] Norris was later cleared to join the Opening Day roster.[45]
In 14 games during the 2020 season, Norris went 3–1 with a 3.25 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 27+2⁄3 innings. Daniel Norris offers emotional goodbye to Detroit as he prepares to join new team – mlive.com
2021
On January 15, 2021, the Tigers and Norris agreed on a one-year, $3.475 million contract, avoiding arbitration.[46] On March 26, Tigers manager A. J. Hinch announced that Norris would start the 2021 season in the bullpen.[47] In 38 games for the 2021 Tigers, Norris was 1–3 with a 5.89 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 36+2⁄3 innings. Daniel Norris reflects on his career with Detroit Tigers after trade: ‘A lot of mixed emotions’ (yahoo.com)
Milwaukee Brewers
On July 30, 2021, Norris was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor league prospect Reese Olson.[48][49] Norris appeared in 18 games for the 2021 Brewers,
all in relief, compiling a 6.64 ERA in 20+1⁄3 innings.
Chicago Cubs
On March 19, 2022, Norris officially agreed to a one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs.[50] He was designated for assignment on July 17, 2022. He was released on July 23.
Detroit Tigers (second stint)
On July 26, 2022, Norris signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers.[51]
He was assigned to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens. Norris was called up from Toledo on August 11. He recorded 2 wins pitching in 14 games and became a free agent at the end of the season.
Johnson City’s Daniel Norris Signs With Reds (tricitiessports.com)
On February 15, 2023, Norris signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds.[52]
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — The Reds added another left-hander into the mix of competing for a roster spot on Wednesday when veteran Daniel Norris agreed to terms on a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Norris will be in big league camp.
A nine-year Major League veteran who has been with four clubs, the 29-year-old Norris was 2-4 with a 5.33 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 41 appearances with the Cubs and Tigers.
After Chicago released him on July 22, he went back to his former team in Detroit and posted better results, compiling a 3.45 ERA in 14 games, including two starts.
“You’re totally bummed you got released, but you’re walking out the door thinking
maybe the numbers don’t reflect what I feel. I feel like I got better,” Norris explained.
“Going back to the Tigers, I think I was able to sort of piece it together and show that
I utilized things that I learned with the Cubs and it provided an opportunity to grow
and get better with the Tigers to finish the year strong.
“I felt really solid about how I finished the year. I think I turned things around in the numbers respect, but also pitch-by-pitch. I had a way better plan and process. I felt good about that.” Former Tigers teammate and Reds reliever Buck Farmer is one of Norris’ best friends. In high school, Norris was recruited for Vanderbilt University by current Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson. Norris felt his experience could be of help to a younger Cincinnati clubhouse.
“At this point in my career, I relish the opportunity to help younger players grow,”
Norris said. “I think in my career as a whole, I’ve been through a lot.
I’ve seen a lot of things. I’ve had the ups and downs, peaks and valleys.”
Over his career, Norris is 22-38 with a 4.71 ERA in 208 games (86 starts).
He previously pitched for the Blue Jays (2014-15), Tigers (2015-20, ’22),
Brewers (2021) and Cubs (2022).
International career
On October 29, 2018, he was selected MLB All-Stars at 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series[53]
Pitching style
How to Throw a Two-Seam Fastball with Daniel Norris – YouTube
Norris features four-seam and two-seam fastballs that average about 92 mph and top out at 96 mph. He also throws a slider and a circle change that both average about 85 mph, and a curveball in the mid 70s.[54] He learned all of the pitches by his senior year of high school. In 2012, he overhauled his pitching mechanics to improve the repetitiveness of his delivery.[55] Detroit Pitcher Daniel Norris Embraces Unconventional Adventure.
The Millionaire Pitcher that Lives in a Van
Norris is a Christian. Norris has said, “I know God has a plan no matter what. No longer do I live and die by my success. I live and die by my faith in God. Everything after that is just an added blessing.”[56] Detroit Pitcher Daniel Norris Embraces Unconventional Adventure | CBN.com
Norris’s family has owned a bicycle shop in Johnson City, Tennessee, for more
than 80 years. In the offseason, Norris lives by choice in a 1978 Volkswagen Westfalia
van, nicknamed “Shaggy.” His unconventional lifestyle can be described as nonconformist and minimalist, and has raised eyebrows in MLB. Prior to the 2015 season, Tony LaCava, Toronto’s assistant general manager, said of Norris “He takes care of himself as well as anybody we’ve got.
He’s in great shape. He competes on the mound. If that wasn’t the case, maybe we’d
be more worried about some of the other stuff. But right now, the van and all that is
secondary. He has great values, and they’re working for him.”[57]
This Baseball Star Makes Millions, And Lives Happily In A VW Van (tinyhouseforus)
Despite his $2 million signing bonus, Norris lives off just $800 a month. In an interview with ESPN he was asked why he chooses to continue to live so conservatively. He asked back, “Who am I to deserve that? What have I really done?” He has also said, “I’m actually more comfortable being kind of poor,” as it helps him maintain a minimalist lifestyle and resist conformity.[57]
On October 19, 2015, Norris announced through his Instagram account that he had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He was diagnosed the previous April, and with a doctor’s consent, he continued playing and delayed treatment until the end of the season.[58][59]
On October 29, Norris announced he was cancer free following a successful surgery to remove a malignant growth from his thyroid.[60]
One of Norris’ hobbies is photography. During the 2015 season, he acquired professional photographer Ben Moon’s Canon EF 85mm portrait lens, and the two became friends. That offseason, the two went on a road trip together, from Norris’ home state of Tennessee to Oregon, where Moon is based. Moon has turned footage from the trip into a short film, titled “Offseason.”[61] YETI Presents: Offseason – YouTube
During the offseason, Norris hopped into a van with Moon and drove from his
hometown of Johnson City, Tenn., to the coast of Oregon, where Moon is based.
As a Major League pitcher and cancer survivor, Daniel Norris is also used to taking
some hard knocks. But living out of his van during the offseason provides a sort of “reset” button for the everyday grind. The short film, entitled “Offseason” and sponsored by YETI, features narration from Norris about baseball and life as the duo drive through the natural landscapes of the American West.
“The thing for me is I’ve been such a fan of Ben’s for long before he knew me, so it was really cool to be one of his subjects,” Norris said. They struck up a friendship after Moon read about Norris’ story two springs ago. Then a Toronto Blue Jays prospect, Norris was a free-spirited, outdoors-loving, photography buff who had beaten cancer and lived in a van for a while to get away from it all.
But Norris grew tired of the stories and questions, not wanting to be labeled
by one-line cliches about his pursuit of an unconventional lifestyle. “I kind of grew to hate the publicity about it,” Norris said. “(Moon) wanted to kind of redirect that into what my vision was in the beginning of it. “It’s so good because he genuinely wanted to tell my story the right way. It was more about wanting to be able to inspire others to do different things in life.”
Norris and Moon originally bonded over their shared love of photography and Norris said they still are good friends and talk regularly. And he was thrilled with the finished product.
“Everything he does, whether it’s a portrait or a short film, is so raw and so organic and real. It’s not forced,” Norris said.
“It was never like, ‘Hey, can we get you to walk through here again?
Can we get you to paddle into that wave again?” Norris said. “No, this is what happens, and this is what it is. I thought he did a really good job of just letting it be real.”
YETI Presents: Beyond the Offseason – YouTube