James Francis Norris (born December 20, 1948) is a former
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
. He played in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
from 1977 to 1980 for the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
and
Texas Rangers, playing all three outfield positions.
Amateur career
Born in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, Norris graduated from
Seaford High School, and was selected by the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
in the 31st round of the
1967 MLB Draft. Rather than turn professional, he opted to attend the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
, where he became a three-time All-
ACC
ACC most often refers to:
* Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US
*American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
. In 1969 and 1970, he played
collegiate summer baseball
Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...
for the
Orleans Cardinals
The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play t ...
of the
Cape Cod Baseball League
The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...
, and was named league
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
in 1969 with a league-leading .415
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
.
Professional career
He was selected by the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
in the 2nd round of the
1970 MLB Draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1970 Major League Baseball draft.
''*'' Did not sign
Other notable Selections
''*'' Did not sign
References
External links Complete draft list from ''The Basebal ...
, but did not sign. In the
1971 draft, he was taken in the 5th round by the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
, and broke into the
major leagues with the Indians in the
1977 season. He batted .270 with 26
stolen bases
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...
in 133 games during his
rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
season. Prior to the
1980 season, he was dealt to the
Texas Rangers in a multi-player trade. He played one year with the Rangers, and retired after spending the 1981 season with
Triple-A Wichita.
Honors
In 2002, he was named to the
ACC's 50th anniversary baseball team, and in 2004 he was inducted into the
Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame.
References
External links
, o
Retrosheet o
Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)1969 Major League Scouting Bureau scouting report of Jim Norris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Jim
1948 births
Living people
Baseball players from New York (state)
Cardenales de Lara players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Cleveland Indians players
Elmira Pioneers players
Gulf Coast Indians players
Jacksonville Suns players
Major League Baseball outfielders
Maryland Terrapins baseball players
Oklahoma City 89ers players
Orleans Firebirds players
San Antonio Brewers players
Sportspeople from Brooklyn
Baseball players from New York City
Texas Rangers players
Toledo Mud Hens players
Wichita Aeros players