Wayne Norton
Canadian baseball player and scout (1942–2018)
Wayne Norton | |
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Norton in 1983
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Outfielder / Coach / Scout | |
Born:
(
1942-11-13
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November 13, 1942
Winnipeg , Manitoba , Canada |
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Died: January 6, 2018 (2018-01-06) (aged 75) | |
Batted:
Left
Threw:
Right
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Member of the Canadian | |
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Induction | 2016 |
Wayne Norton (November 13, 1942 – January 6, 2018) was a Canadian professional baseball outfielder , coach , and scout . He played 10 seasons in Minor League Baseball , then had a lengthy career as a coach and scout. Noted for his impact on baseball in Canada , Norton was inducted to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016. [1] [2] Listed at 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) and 188 pounds (85 kg) , he threw right-handed and batted left-handed.
Biography
Norton was born in Winnipeg , Manitoba , [3] and grew up in Port Moody , British Columbia . [4] He played amateur baseball in the Vancouver area for Coquitlam in the late 1950s, [5] then played college baseball for the Whitworth Pirates in Spokane, Washington . [6] After batting .419 during his freshman season, he signed with the New York Yankees in June 1961 and was assigned to the Florida State League (FSL). [7]
In his first professional season, Norton batted .238 with one home run and 21 runs batted in (RBIs) in 66 games with the St. Petersburg Saints of the FSL. [8] After the season, he was claimed by the Kansas City Athletics in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft . [9] [10] Norton went on to spend the remainder of his Minor League Baseball career within the Athletics organization. [8] [lower-alpha 1] He first reached Triple-A in 1966 with the Vancouver Mounties of the Pacific Coast League , and finished his playing career in 1970 with the Triple-A Iowa Oaks of the American Association . [8] Overall, Norton played in 1206 minor-league games, 459 at the Triple-A level. [8] He had a career batting average of .242 with 107 home runs and 490 RBIs. [8] Defensively, he played 1080 games in the outfield, compiling a .968 fielding percentage ; he also played 10 games as a third baseman and made one appearance as a second baseman . [8]
After his playing career, Norton had a long career in coaching and scouting. [2] He established Canada's Junior National Team and managed the Canada national baseball team at the 1975 Pan American Games . [2] [11] In 1986, he established a baseball academy in Vancouver, the National Baseball Institute (NBI). [6] Players developed at NBI include Matt Stairs and Corey Koskie . [6]
Norton left NBI in 1994, worked as a scout for the Baltimore Orioles from 1996 to 1999, then moved to the Seattle Mariners in 2000. [6] He was hired into both organizations by Pat Gillick . [3] Norton scouted for the Mariners in Canada for 17 years, [6] and also scouted in Europe. [2] Canadian players he signed include Phillippe Aumont , Tyler O'Neill , James Paxton , and Michael Saunders . [6] In Europe, he signed players such as Greg Halman , Alex Liddi , and Dylan Unsworth . [6] [lower-alpha 2] Norton was honored as International Scout of the Year by the Mariners (2007), and twice was named Canadian Scout of the Year by the Canadian Baseball Network (CBN) (1998, 2013). [6] CBN named the Wayne Norton Award, presented to their selection for minor-league pitcher of the year, in his honor. [12]
Port Moody, when Norton grew up, honored him with a civic award in 2015, [13] and named the city's Wayne Norton Baseball Diamond in his honor in 2018. [14] Norton was diagnosed with ALS in 2015, [4] and continued to scout for the Mariners during the 2016 season despite his illness. [15] In June 2016, he was inducted to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame . [3] He threw out a ceremonial first pitch at Safeco Field in September 2017. [6] Norton died in January 2018, aged 75. [3] He was survived by his wife, a daughter, and a son. [6]
Notes
- ↑ The Athletics franchise was in Kansas City through 1967, then relocated and became the Oakland Athletics .
- ↑ Unsworth, born in South Africa, attended the European Baseball Academy in Italy.
References
- ↑ "Baseball Canada statement on the passing of Wayne Norton" . Baseball Canada . January 6, 2018 . Retrieved December 26, 2021 .
- 1 2 3 4 Ringolsby, Tracy (January 8, 2018). "Norton left indelible mark on Canada, baseball" . MLB.com . Retrieved December 26, 2021 .
- 1 2 3 4 "Wayne Norton" . baseballhalloffame.ca . Retrieved December 26, 2021 .
- 1 2 Douglas, Greg (September 26, 2015). "Baseball's 'Pride of Port Moody' diagnosed with ALS" . Vancouver Sun . p. D6 . Retrieved December 26, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
- ↑ McKenna, Gary (January 10, 2018). "Port Moody's Mr. Baseball mourned" . tricitynews.com . Retrieved December 26, 2021 .
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Johns, Greg (January 7, 2018). "Mariners international scout Norton dies at 75" . MLB.com . Retrieved December 26, 2021 .
- ↑ "Yanks Sign Buc Player" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . June 3, 1961. p. 8 . Retrieved December 26, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Wayne Norton Minor League Statistics & History" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved December 26, 2021 .
- ↑ Boyd, Denny (November 28, 1961). "A's Yank Norton From Yanks" . Vancouver Sun . p. 14 . Retrieved December 26, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
-
↑
"Longtime Mariners scout Wayne Norton passes away"
.
KAFE
.
KPUG
. January 2018
. Retrieved
December 26,
2021
.
chosen by the Kansas City Athletics in the 1961 Rule 5 Draft
- ↑ "Wayne Norton named coach" . Sedalia Democrat . Sedalia, Missouri . AP . May 8, 1975. p. 15 . Retrieved December 26, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Brash wins CBN's Wayne Norton award" . canadianbaseballnetwork.com . November 2021 . Retrieved December 26, 2021 .
- ↑ "Sports Award recipients – 2015" . portmoody.ca . Retrieved December 26, 2021 .
- ↑ "Port Moody names baseball diamond after Canadian baseball legend Wayne Norton" . portmoody.ca . May 12, 2018 . Retrieved December 26, 2021 .
- ↑ Stone, Larry (June 11, 2016). "Mariners scouting legend Wayne Norton battles ALS with courage, grace" . The Seattle Times . Retrieved December 26, 2021 .
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)