Sports

Baseball Is Like Surfing for Tigers' New Pitcher, Dan Norris: '100% Concentration'

July 31, 2015, 7:28 AM by  Alan Stamm

Update -- Friday, 7:30 a.m.: Daniel Norris, wearing Number 44, is the Tigers' starting pitcher this Sunday at Baltimore, the team announced Thursday night.

Daniel Norris, a major leaguer for 10 months who was acquired by the Tigers in a deal that sends David Price to Toronto, is a colorfully offbeat gift for Detroit fans and sportswriters.

That description may understate his zaniness, judging from the young pitcher's interviews. Signals also are at his Twitter page (66,000 followers), where the banner photo shows the 22-year-old holding a skateboard while posing with his golden-cream '78 VW Westfalia van, nicknamed "Shaggy." 


Our new hurler pretends to be Paul Bunyan, using a Grand Rapids-made axe. (Twitter photo)

Norris tweeted a modeling shot (right) early this year for a men's goods shop called The Fouled Anchor in his hometown of Johnson City, Tenn. The (mock) shaving implement is made in Michigan by Victor Axe + Tool in Grand Rapids.

"He definitely is an unapologetic free spirit, a surfer who likes to read Kerouac," Steve Schrader writes Thursday afternoon in the Detroit Free Press, which compiles Norris-isms.

ESPN's magazine calls him "the most interesting pitcher in baseball."

But hey, no need to listen to journalists when you can hear the left-handed newcomer in his own words, starting with this greeting to us:

On being "weird:" "I'm not going to change who I am just because people think it's weird. The only way I'm going to have a great season is by starting out happy and balanced and continuing to be me. . . . To feel good about life, I need to have some adventure. . . . Adventure is freedom." -- ESPN the Magazine, March 5, 2015

On sudden wealth: "I'm actually more comfortable being kind of poor." -- Same as above

On a coincidence (or a joke?) "Brad Ausmus is my 2nd cousin." -- Tweet today


Daniel Norris: "Living out of my van [during spring training] really taught me how to . . . be self-dependent."  (Facebook photo from 2011)

► On pitching: "I am truly at peace out there. 100% concentration. Only thing comparable is riding a wave. I know that I’m exactly where God wants me when I’m pitching." -- Living Red Magazine, 2014 debut issue

 On music: "Seemingly my whole life I have listened to Jack Johnson. He is my all-time favorite -- not only his mellow tunes, but who he is and what he stands for. He inspires me. . . . Others: Citizen Cope, Mishka, Lord Huron, Ben Harper, Soja, some Reggae tunes." -- Same as above

On his van: "Living out of my van [during spring training] really taught me how to . .. be self-dependent." -- Same as above

On retirement: "When I am old and grey, I hope to be living in a far off bungalow somewhere far off the grid, still riding waves of course. Growing my own food in a garden, living completely self-sustainable." -- Same as above

On off-field workouts: “Surfing is great for your shoulders and core. Hiking is a good lower body workout, and rock climbing -- eell, if you’ve ever rock climbed, good luck getting out of bed the next day!” -- GrindTV, Feb. 5, 2015 

 On his background: “I grew up with a simple lifestyle, and I knew going into professional baseball that would be tested. In my mind there’s no need for luxury, or at least society’s sense of the word.” -- Same as above



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