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Wayne Norton

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Wayne Norton
Norton in 1983
Outfielder / Coach / Scout
Born: (1942-11-13)November 13, 1942
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Died: January 6, 2018(2018-01-06) (aged 75)
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
Member of the Canadian
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction2016

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

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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][a] 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][b] 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

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  1. ^ The Athletics franchise was in Kansas City through 1967, then relocated and became the Oakland Athletics.
  2. ^ Unsworth, born in South Africa, attended the European Baseball Academy in Italy.

References

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  1. ^ "Baseball Canada statement on the passing of Wayne Norton". Baseball Canada. January 6, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Ringolsby, Tracy (January 8, 2018). "Norton left indelible mark on Canada, baseball". MLB.com. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "Wayne Norton". baseballhalloffame.ca. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  4. ^ a b 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.
  5. ^ McKenna, Gary (January 10, 2018). "Port Moody's Mr. Baseball mourned". tricitynews.com. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Johns, Greg (January 7, 2018). "Mariners international scout Norton dies at 75". MLB.com. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  7. ^ "Yanks Sign Buc Player". Spokane Daily Chronicle. June 3, 1961. p. 8. Retrieved December 26, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Wayne Norton Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  9. ^ Boyd, Denny (November 28, 1961). "A's Yank Norton From Yanks". Vancouver Sun. p. 14. Retrieved December 26, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "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
  11. ^ "Wayne Norton named coach". Sedalia Democrat. Sedalia, Missouri. AP. May 8, 1975. p. 15. Retrieved December 26, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Brash wins CBN's Wayne Norton award". canadianbaseballnetwork.com. November 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  13. ^ "Sports Award recipients – 2015". portmoody.ca. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  14. ^ "Port Moody names baseball diamond after Canadian baseball legend Wayne Norton". portmoody.ca. May 12, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  15. ^ Stone, Larry (June 11, 2016). "Mariners scouting legend Wayne Norton battles ALS with courage, grace". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
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