Michael Kelvin Norris (born March 19, 1955) is a former

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), ...

right-handed

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

who played with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

(–, ).

Career

He attended Balboa High School in San Francisco and was drafted by the Oakland A's in the first round (24th overall) In January 1973. He made his major league debut in 1975. Norris is best remembered for his spectacular season. He went 22-9 with 24

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s and a 2.53

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

, while also earning the

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

. However, he was not awarded the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

; Steve Stone of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, 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 The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

and pitched well in the AL Championship Series against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

despite getting hit with a loss there. However, Norris never even approached his 1981 form again. A number of baseball historians and statisticians have blamed this on manager

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

overworking him and the other members of the 1981 staff. In 2006, baseball writer

Rob Neyer Rob Neyer (born June 22, 1966) is an American baseball writer known for his use of statistical analysis or sabermetrics. He started his career working for Bill James and STATS and then joined ESPN.com as a columnist and blogger from 1996 to 2011 ...

estimated that Norris threw 131 pitches per complete game in 1981–a heavy workload for a young pitcher even then. He was sent to the minors during the 1983 season. After spending parts of the next five years in the minors, he made a brief comeback as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

in 1990, posting an ERA of 3.00 in 27 innings. He is the only player to win at least one game with Oakland in three different decades. In 1999 he was diagnosed with

cervical myelopathy Myelopathy describes any neurologic deficit related to the spinal cord. The most common form of myelopathy in humans, '' cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM)'', also called ''degenerative cervical myelopathy'', results from narrowing of the spina ...

, and he had surgery in January 2000 at the

California Pacific Medical Center Sutter Health California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) is a general medical/surgical and teaching hospital in San Francisco, California. It was created by a merger of some of the city's longest established hospitals and currently operates three ac ...

. After recovering, Norris took up

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

as a hobby. In 2007, he appeared with Dave Stewart,

Mudcat Grant James Timothy "Mudcat" Grant Jr. (August 13, 1935 – June 11, 2021) was an American baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos ...

, and

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

in a

pre-game ceremony A pre-game ceremony or pre-match ceremony is an on-field ceremony occurring before a sporting event. Such ceremonies may celebrate a past event, honour a retiring athlete, commemorate a deceased athlete, or promote a cause. Celebrating past event ...

before a regular season game between the Texas Rangers and the

.Pass it on -- Norris wants to keep Aces' legacy alive
/ref> Norris was well known for his distinctive green fielding glove.

References

External links

Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Mike 1955 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American League All-Stars African-American baseball players Baseball players from San Francisco Birmingham A's players Burlington Bees players City College of San Francisco Rams baseball players Gold Glove Award winners Huntsville Stars players Jersey City A's players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Modesto A's players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Oakland Athletics players Reno Silver Sox players San Bernardino Pride players San Jose Bees players San Jose Missions players Tacoma Tigers players Tucson Toros players Vancouver Canadians players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople

Career

See also

References

External links