Nelson Augusto Norman (born May 23, 1958) is a Dominican-American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player,

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. 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), ...

as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

from to for the Texas Rangers and the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. He returned to the major leagues in with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

. After his playing career he continued to serve in minor league baseball as a coach and manager for several professional baseball organizations.

Playing career

Pittsburgh Pirates

Norman was originally signed as a 16-year-old amateur free agent by the

in . He made his professional debut with the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

Gulf Coast League Pirates The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its h ...

that year,

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

.262 in 61 games. He made his way through their farm system quickly, and by the end of the 1977 season he was playing for the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

Texas Rangers

1978: MLB debut

Norman was traded along with

Al Oliver Albert Oliver Jr. (born October 14, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and first baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won ...

from the Pirates to the Rangers in the first four-team blockbuster deal in Major League Baseball history on December 8, 1977 that also involved the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

and a total of eleven players changing teams. The Rangers also received

Jon Matlack Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack (born January 19, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through for the New York Mets and the Texas Rangers. The three-t ...

from the Mets. The Pirates acquired

Bert Blyleven Bert Blyleven (born Rik Aalbert Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is a Dutch-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1992, primarily with the Minnesota Twins. Blyleven recorded 3,701 ...

from the Rangers and

John Milner John David Milner (December 28, 1949 – January 4, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and left fielder from to for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Montreal E ...

from the Mets. Going to the Braves from the Rangers were

Adrian Devine Paul Adrian Devine (December 2, 1951June 27, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher in and from through for the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers. He batted and threw ri ...

Tommy Boggs Thomas Winton Boggs (October 25, 1955 – October 5, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and college baseball coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Texas Rangers (1976–1977, 1985) and the ...

and Eddie Miller. The Mets got from the Braves

Willie Montañez Guillermo Montañez Naranjo (born April 1, 1948) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California Angels (), Philadelphia Phillies (–, ), San Francisco Giants (–), A ...

and from the Rangers

Tom Grieve Thomas Alan Grieve (born March 4, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1979 for the Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. He was nicknam ...

and

Ken Henderson Kenneth Joseph Henderson (born June 15, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from through for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, ...

who was sent to New York to complete the transaction three months later on March 15, 1978. Norman started the 1978 season with the

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

. In mid-May, starting shortstop

Bert Campaneris Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco (born March 9, 1942), nicknamed "Bert" or "Campy", is a Cuban American former professional baseball shortstop, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for four American League (AL) teams, primarily the Kansas City / ...

was injured, and Norman was called up to the majors to back up replacement Jim Mason. He made his major league debut on May 20, three days before his 20th birthday. He entered the game in the sixth inning after the Rangers had

pinch-hit In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

for Mason. He played three innings in the field, handling one chance on defense, before he was lifted for pinch hitter

Mike Jorgensen Michael Jorgensen (born August 16, 1948) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who currently works in the St. Louis Cardinals' front office. The New York Mets drafted him in the fourth round of the 1966 Major L ...

. Two days later, Norman made his first start and got his first major league hit. When Campaneris was activated in early June, Norman returned to Tucson. He spent the rest of the season there, batting .284 with 76

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. He returned to the major leagues in September, finishing his first season with nine hits in 34

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

1979: Starter

In , Norman won the starting shortstop job in

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, beating out both Campaneris and newcomer

Larvell Blanks Larvell Blanks (born January 28, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder from through for the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers. Blanks comes from a family ...

, who had been acquired from 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 ...

over the winter (Campaneris would be traded to the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

) in May. Norman played in 147 games, but batted just .222 with just 12

extra base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire anot ...

s in 343 at bats.

1980–81: Back to the minors

Norman opened up the 1980 season as the starting shortstop again. However, by the end of April, he had lost the job to

Pepe Frías Jesús María "Pepe" Frías Andújar (born July 14, 1948) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, and Los Angeles Dodgers The Lo ...

, who had been acquired from the

over the winter. In May, the Rangers signed

Bud Harrelson Derrel McKinley "Bud" Harrelson (born June 6, 1944) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. He is a coach and part-owner of the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He played for the New York Mets, Philadelphia ...

to back up Frías, and Norman, who was hitting .219 in 17 games, was sent down to the minors. However, due to injury, he played in just 28 games for the

Charleston Charlies The Charleston Charlies were a Triple-A minor league baseball team located in Charleston, West Virginia. Two separate Charlies franchises played in the International League from 1971 to 1983. The team was the relocated Columbus Jets. In 1977 the ...

, and did not play in the majors again that year. Once again, the Rangers acquired a shortstop over the winter before the 1981 season. This time, it was

Mario Mendoza Mario Mendoza Aizpuru (born December 26, 1950) is a Mexican former professional baseball infielder. Mendoza, a lifetime .215 hitter, is best known for being the source of the name for the threshold for batting ineptitude, the "Mendoza Line", m ...

, acquired in a trade from the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

. Norman started the season in the minors, playing for the

Wichita Aeros The Wichita Aeros were an American minor league baseball franchise based in Wichita, Kansas, that played in the Triple-A American Association from 1970 through 1984. The Aeros were established as an expansion franchise when the Association grew ...

. He batted .246 in 115 games, and earned a September call-up to the Rangers. He played in just seven games, going 3-for-13 at the plate. After the season, the Rangers traded Norman back to the Pirates for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Víctor Cruz.

Back to the Pirates

Unfortunately for Norman, the Pirates already had

Dale Berra Dale Anthony Berra (born December 13, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball player who primarily played as an infielder from to . He is the son of Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra and brother of former Baltimore Colts return specialist ...

entrenched as their starting shortstop. During spring training, Norman was beaten out for the backup job by minor league veteran Jim Smith, and for the second consecutive year he opened the year in the minors. After batting .270 in 134 games for the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

, Norman was again called up in September, but this time played in just three games. He started the final game of the season, going 0-for-3. In , Norman was demoted to Double-A. He played the entire season with the

Lynn Pirates Lynn may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lynn (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Lynn (surname) * The Lynns, a 1990s American country music duo consisting of twin sisters Peggy and Patsy Lynn * Lynn (v ...

, where he was moved to second base for most of the year. He batted .268 and had a career-high (at any level) of five

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s. In , he was back in Triple-A with the

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

, where for the first time in his career he was not the full-time starter, splitting time in the middle infield with several other players. At the end of the year, he became a free agent.

Orioles and Expos

He signed with 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 ...

' organization, and spent the 1985 season playing second base. After hitting just .186, he was traded during the offseason to the

for fellow minor league veteran Steve Baker. Norman finished his playing career in the Expos organization. After his abysmal 1985, he was returned to Double-A again in with the

Jacksonville Expos Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. He spent his last three seasons as a player with the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

before retiring in . He did get to play one final game in the majors on April 29, 1987, starting at shortstop against his old team, the Pirates, and going 0-for-4.

Post-playing career

After his playing career ended, Norman remained in the Expos organization as a minor league coach. In 1992, he was named manager of the

Gulf Coast League Expos The Florida Complex League Nationals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Washington Nationals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Nationals. The ...

, where he managed until 1994. In 1995, he moved to the Braves organization, where he managed the

Macon Braves Macon may refer to: Places Belgium *Macon, Belgium France *Mâcon ** Ancient Diocese of Mâcon **Mâcon, another name for the Mâconnais wine from that region United States of America * Macon, Alabama * Macon, Georgia * Macon, Illinois *Macon ...

. From 1997 through 2000, he was manager of the

Dominican Summer League Red Sox The Dominican Summer League Red Sox, often called the DSL Red Sox, are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball, playing in the foreign Dominican Summer League. The team, classed as a Rookie League franchise, ...

. In 2001, he served as infield coach for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. In 2007, Norman served as a coach for the

Swing of the Quad Cities Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing ri ...

. From 2008 to 2010, he was the manager of the

Dominican Summer League Cardinals The Dominican Summer League Cardinals or DSL Cardinals are a rookie league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals based in the Dominican Republic. The team plays in the Boca Chica South division of the Dominican Summer League. History The team fi ...

, although he was replaced for part of 2009 by Claudio Almonte. As of 2015, Norman is a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

and director of Dominican operations for the Orioles.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, Nelson 1958 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Baltimore Orioles scouts Boston Red Sox coaches Caimanes del Sur players Charleston Charlies players Charleston Patriots players Columbus Clippers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Republic people of Cocolo descent Sportspeople from San Pedro de Macorís Estrellas Orientales players Gulf Coast Pirates players Hawaii Islanders players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Expos players Lynn Pirates (1983) players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball shortstops Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos players Pittsburgh Pirates players Portland Beavers players Rochester Red Wings players Shreveport Captains players Texas Rangers players Tucson Toros players Wichita Aeros players