Greg Norton #14

Resides in Denver, CO, with his wife, Jaena, and their children, Jace and Ciana...Graduate of Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, CA...Attended the University of Oklahoma, where he was an All-Big-8 selection...Named an All-Star in the Cape Cod League with Chatham in 1992...Was signed by Doug Laumann and Dave Owen of the Chicago White Sox.

2008

Batted .323 (20-for-62) with five home runs and 17 RBI and a .462 OBP after the All-Star break. Hit just .232 before the break. ...Led the majors with three pinch HRs, 18 PH RBI & 17 PH BB; was second with 18 pinch hits. The three homers rank third on the Braves single-season pinch HR list. ...Made 27 starts for Atlanta (LF-15, 1B-6, RF-1, DH-5). ...Acquired by the Braves from SEA on 5/5 in exchange for LHP Nelson Payano. ...Reached base safely in 16 of his last 32 PH appearances (8 H/8 BB). Batted .316 (18-for-57) as a PH and .238 (31-for-130) when he was in the lineup. ...Pounded his third pinch-homer of the season (13th career) with a three-run shot in the ninth inning on 9/14 at NYM to help send the Braves to a 7-4 win. ...Went 7-for-18 (.389) with two HR and six RBI as a PH in August. ...Hit first HR since 6/10 on 7/19, snapping a span of 25 games and 60 ABs. ...Went 0-for-4 with 4 Ks on 7/6 vs. HOU, matching his career high for a game. ...Had ninth career two-double game, plus a ninth-inning, game-tying one on 6/21. ...Hit a three-run, first-inning home run on 6/10 at CHI off T. Lilly. ...Had first hit with ATL with a PH go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning on 5/7 vs. SD and had a tworun, pinch-hit single 5/8 vs. SD. ...Clubbed his first homer on 5/31 at CIN with a two-run shot off J. Fogg.

2007

Thirty-five year-old veteran switch-hitter appeared in 75 games (53 starts: 47-DH, 3-RF, 2-LF, 1-1B) ... Batted .243 with 4 HR and 23 RBI, down from .296, 17 and 45 in 2006 ... Underwent right knee surgery on April 2 (Opening Day) ... injured the knee in the Rays next-to-last spring training game (March 30 at Sarasota) ... that opened a spot on the roster for Carlos Peña ... Norton also suffered an injury on the end of spring training in 2006 that kept him off the Opening Day roster (left hamstring strain) ... Reinstated from the DL May 17 at the Disney Sports Complex when Rocco Baldelli was shelved ... Batted .277 (33-119) in 44 games following the All-Star Break after batting .193 (16-83) in the first half in 31 games ... Hit just .233 against AL pitching (41-176) ... batted .308 in interleague play (8-26) ... Batted .251 (45-179) against right-handed pitching, but just .174 (4-23) vs. lefties ... 74 of his 82 career HR have come off righties ... Was just 2-of-16 as a pinch-hitter, but did collect 4 RBI in that role, two off the AL lead ... Scored the game's lone run Sep 10 at Boston after beginning the 5th inning with the game's lone extra-base hit (double) ... Had 26 hits in his last 29 games (26-83, .313) after collecting just 6 hits in his previous 17 games (52 AB's) ... Since 2001, Norton's 63 pinch hits are 6th most in the majors while his 46 pinch-hit RBI are tied for 4th ... only Craig Wilson (12) and Olmedo Saenz (11) have more pinch-hit homers than Norton's 10 since 2001 ... Norton's last 4 pinch-hit home runs have either tied the game or put his team ahead.

2006

Veteran switch-hitter batted a career-best .296 with a career-high 17 home runs and a team-high .374 on-base percentage...Was a non-roster invite...led the Rays in batting during the spring at .396 with a team-high 8 doubles in 25 games ...had the team made until he strained his left hamstring in the second-to-the-last spring game on March 31 at Lakeland (DET) and was reassigned to minor league camp the following day to rehab...Joined Triple-A Durham Apr 22...called up to the Rays on April 27, after playing in 3 games for the Bulls, when Jorge Cantu was shelved with a left foot fracture...Played in 98 of the remaining 141 games, 77 starts (27 at DH, 26 in RF, 22 at 1B, 2 in LF)...started 23 games before the break and 54 of 73 games after...Outfield starts were his first since 2002 and first in right field since 2001...He hit .302 after the All-Star Break with 13 home runs, including .340 at Tropicana Field...only Aubrey Huff (2002, '03, '04, '05), Jonny Gomes (2005) and Greg Vaughn (2000) homered more times after the break in club history...Batted .327 (34-104) as the DH, 2nd best among designated hitters with 100+ plate appearances behind Vlad Guerrero (.363)...Belted his first HR as a Ray (in his 5th AB) April 29 vs. Boston off LH Lenny DiNardo...Connected for a pinch-hit HR May 7 off Oakland's Justin Duchscherer tying the game at 2 in the 8th...was his 10th career PH HR...only Craig Wilson (12) has more PH homers than Norton since 2001...Norton's last 4 pinch-hit home runs have either tied the game or put his team ahead (source: David Vincent, SABR)...Had a PH HR robbed by BAL Corey Patterson in the 9th inning May 30 at Camden Yards that would have tied the game...His 16 pinch-hit at-bats tied for the 5th most in club history...Gave the Rays the 7-6 walk-off win over Boston August 6 with a 10th-inning HR off Julian Tavarez...was the 3rd walk-off HR by the Rays on the season (also May 19 & 20 vs. FLA by Aubrey Huff and Russell Branyan, respectively)...was the first game-ending HR of his career...He batted .365 in August, fourth best in the AL behind LAA Vladimir Guerrero (.393), LAA Robb Quinlan (.387) and BOS Manny Ramirez (.378)...was the third-best August in club history (min 50 AB) behind Aubrey Huff in 2004 (.385) and Travis Lee in 2005 (.368)...Raised his avg. 46 points in the month, from .252 to .298...Also collected 5 home runs in August, his 2nd best month...had 5 in Sept as well...best is 8 in May of 1999...Aug 19-22 had a stretch of 8 consecutive plate appearances reaching base (3-1B, 2-2B, HR, HBP)...tied a Rays club record also done by Tomas Perez in 2006 (July 28-30), Aubrey Huff (Sept 22-24, 2004) and Wade Boggs (Aug 11-13, 1998)...Collected a career-high 4 hits Aug 21 vs. TEX (2-2B)...had 4 games of 3+ hits, his first 3-hit games since Oct 2, 2001 at Arizona for the Rockies...Hit safely in 8 straight Aug. 1-8, tying his career high...Hit .327 over the season's final two months (56-171), the 11th-best average in the A.L...Earned American League player-of-the-week honors the final week of the season, batting .360 (9-25) with three doubles, three home runs and eight RBI, 21 total bases and a slugging percentage of .840...was the 3rd Ray to win the award on the season (also Scott Kazmir May 15-21 and Carl Crawford May 22-28)...also the 2nd time for him - May 24-30, 1999 with the White Sox...His career-high 17th HR came on the last day of the season, Oct. 1 at Cleveland, a 2-run shot in his final at-bat (off Cliff Lee)...Batted .415 against the Red Sox (17-41)...the only player who hit Sox pitching better with at least as many at-bats was the Blue Jays' Alex Rios (.446, 25-56)...Has hit 70 of his 78 career home runs from the left side, 14 of his 17 in 2006.

2005

Re-signed with the Rockies in 2005 but was released late in spring training (March 29)...signed with the Chicago White Sox organization on April 21 and was assigned to AAA Charlotte, where he spent the entire campaign...snapped a string of 7 consecutive major league opening day rosters made...Belted 17 HR in 90 games for the Knights (330 AB)...second on the club to Joe Borchard's 29...had just one HR through his first dozen games before a 2-HR contest May 9 vs. Ottawa (Orioles)...also had a pair June 23 vs. Louisville (Reds) and Aug. 4 vs. Durham...seven of his home runs came in August, along with 25 RBI in 24 games...hit 13 home runs righthanded and 4 lefthanded...Played predominantly 3rd base, but also saw action at 1st base and designated hitter...Hit .336 (48-143) with runners on base and .316 (25-79) with runners in scoring position.

2004

Returned to the American League after three years with the Rockies and split time between Detroit and Toledo (AAA)...made his seventh consecutive Opening Day roster but struggled out of the gates, going 1-for-27 (.037) in his first 13 games...was placed on the disabled list June 22 (retro to June 18) with left knee inflammation...sustained the injury sliding into home plate in the second game of a day-night doubleheader at Philadelphia on June 17...it was his first trip to the DL since 2002 and only the second of his career...was reinstated July 24 and outrighted to Toledo July 25 where he spent the remainder of the year.

2003

Continued to solidify himself as one of the best pinch hitters in the game and the Rockies' most reliable bat off the bench led all big leaguers in pinch hits (23) and RBI (17) while his 4 home runs tied Cincinnati's Adam Dunn for the major league lead joined Howard Johnson (1994), John Vander Wal (1995) and Angel Echevarria (1999) as the only Rockies to have 4 PH home runs in one season Norty's 23 pinch hits were the second most by a Rockie in a single season, trailing only Vander Wal's club and ML record of 28 set in 1995 overall, the switch-hitter compiled a .324 average (23-for-71) in 78 appearances off the bench since coming to Colorado in 2001, Greg has accumulated the most pinch-hit home runs (9) and RBI (41) in the majors, while posting the best batting average of any pinch hitter with at least 100 at-bats (.275) Norty's 55 pinch hits now rank second in Rockies history, 24 shy of Vander Wal (79) Greg started only 27 games for Colorado this year (all at 3B) but saw action in 114 tilts, batting .263 (47-for-179) with 15 doubles, 6 homers and 31 RBI all 6 home runs came from the left side of the plate, as did 26 of his 31 RBI and 19 of his 21 extra-base hits did have a higher average as a right-hander, batting .273 (6-for-22) versus a .261 (41-for-157) mark from the left struggled out of the gates, batting just .118 (4-for-34) in April and as low as .177 (10-for-45) through May 30 but then turned it all around beginning May 31, as he compiled a career-high tying 8-game hitting streak from May 31 to June 10 (.429, 9-for-21) from that point until the end of the season, Norty batted .276 (37-for-134) after entering the year with a .194 career average in June, Norton put up his best-ever month this June, hitting at a .389 (14-for-36) clip his previous best came in Sept. of 1999 when he batted .361 for the White Sox Greg's .389 June avg finished as the top mark among all Rockie batters for the month belted his first HR on June 2 at Pac Bell off Jason Schmidt, snapping a 118 at-bat homerless drought set a club record with 5 consecutive pinch hits from June 20 to July 4 began that stretch with his first PH homer of the year on June 20 vs. Detroit and ended it with his second PH clout on July 4 at Milwaukee after a cool July (.250 avg.), Greg went off to bat .350 in August (7-for-20) surpassed Terry Shumpert (45) for second place on the Rockies' career pinch hit list with his 46th on Aug. 5 vs. Philadelphia drilled a 3-run pinch-hit homer in the 11th inning on Aug. 11 at Montreal, the game-winning runs in a 6-3 Rockies victory the 3 RBI was a season-best, later matched Aug. 24 vs. Atlanta hit his fourth PH homer in the season finale on Sept. 28 at San Diego, tying the game at 5-5 in what was a 10-8 Rockies win reached the 200 career mark in RBI (May 25 vs. San Francisco) and runs scored (Sept. 16 vs. Hou) in 2003 in the field, Norton converted 73 of his 79 possible chances at the hot corner, finishing with a .924 fielding percentage besides his appearances at 3B, Greg also played nine games at first base and three in RF it was the fifth, sixth and seventh time in his career he has ever seen action in RF and the first time since 2001.

2002

The Rockies' main threat off the bench, Norton played in 113 games for Colorado, batting .220 (37-for-168) with 7 homers and 37 RBI ... led the team in pinch hits (15), PH at-bats (66), pinch homers (2) and pinch RBI (13) ... his pinch RBI tied for the ML lead, his hits were the third most and his AB's were the second most in the big leagues ... was under .200 much of the year but hit at a .273 clip (21-for-77) with 2 HR and 17 RBI over the final three months ... tied for the NL lead with a pair of grand slams ... hit his first career grand slam on May 13 vs. Florida as a pinch hitter off Gary Knotts ... it was his fourth career pinch-hit homer and just the sixth PH grand slam in club history ... the last Rockie to accomplish the feat was Jeff Reed on Aug. 16, 1998 vs. Philadelphia ... hit his second PH clout of the year and fifth of his career on May 24 vs. San Francisco ... then, belted his second career grand slam just about a week later, May 30 at San Diego ... the slam came off Bobby Jones in the first inning, the only runs for the Rox in a 4-2 win ... batted .364 with the bases loaded (4-for- 11) ... had 19 RBI with the bases juiced, tying Todd Helton for fourth in the NL ... injured his groin while running out a grounder on June 29 at Seattle ... placed on the disabled list July 1 with a strained right hamstring ... played in three games on a rehab assignment at Colorado Springs (1-for-12) before being activated July 18 ... hit a PH single in his first game back that night at Arizona ... drove in the go-ahead run as a pinch hitter on three separate occasions in the second half ... in Pittsburgh July 31, he put Colorado ahead 6-4 in the sixth with a two-out, bases loaded single ... on August 19 at Atlanta, he gave the squad a 6-5 lead with a two-out double in the ninth off John Smoltz that scored Juan Uribe ... it was only the sixth time Smoltz had been scored on in his previous 35 appearances ... on Sept. 13 vs. Los Angeles, Greg forced home the game-winning run in the seventh inning when he drew a bases loaded walk ... in the field, he played defense in 40 games at four different positions: 22 at 3B, 15 at 1B, two in LF and one at SS ... was the club's primary choice to spell both Helton at first base and Todd Zeile at third base, starting five and 20 games at the corner positions respectively ... took 58 chances (55 PO, 3 A) at 1B without committing an error ... made five errors at third base ... also saw time in left field, making two starts ... in spring training, Norton set a Rockies spring record with a .489 batting average (22-for-45).

2001

Greg appeared in 117 games for Colorado and finished with a .267 (60-for-225) average, 13 doubles, two triples, 13 homers and 40 RBI.

• His 2001 batting average of .267 set a new major league career high...his previous high was .255 set in 1999, his second full season in the majors with the Chicago White Sox.
• His two triples in 2001 tied a career high, done for the third time, last coming in 1998.
• A switch hitter, Norton batted .271 (16-for-59) with a pair of doubles and four RBI from the right side.
• Batting left handed, Greg hit at a .265 (44-for-166) clip with 11 doubles, two triples, 13 homers and 36 RBI.
• On the year, he had seven multi-RBI games (four two-RBI games, two three-RBI outings and one four-RBI contest).
• The four-RBI game came on May 3rd in Philadelphia, tying a career high, last coming on April 18, 2000 vs. Seattle while with the White Sox.
• Greg had nine multi-hit games on the season, seven two-hit games and two three-hit games.
• The two three-hit games tied a career high, he has now accomplished that feat 15 times, with the last coming Sept. 9, 2001 vs. San Francisco, when he went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in a 4-8 Colorado loss.
• Greg made his major-league debut in the outfield, entered as a defensive replacement in LF, on April 8 vs. San Diego.
• He recorded his first career outfield assist on May 23 at Los Angeles, gunning down Alex Cora at third in the seventh.
• In the pinch, Greg was 17-for-63 (.270) with three homers and 11 RBI.
• At Coors this season, Norton batted .306 (33-for-108) with eight doubles, seven homers and 21 RBI.
• Away from Coors, he batted .231 (27-for-117) with five doubles, a pair of triples, six homers and 19 RBI.
• Against lefties, he batted .271 (16-for-59) with two doubles and four RBI.
• When batting against righties, he hit .265 (44-for-166) with 11 doubles, two triples, 13 homers and 36 RBI.
• Batting with RISP, .239 (17-for-71) with eight doubles and three homers.

GETTING STARTED...Norton made starts at four different positions this season for Colorado.

• He made 24 appearances, 20 starts, at 3B and batted .220 (18-for-82) with three homers and 16 RBI.
• He made 14 consecutive starts (April 27-May 12) at third when Jeff Cirillo went on the DL with left rib cage spasms.
• As a left fielder, he made 13 starts, but appeared in 22 games for the Rockies.
• He batted .280 (14-for-50) with five homers, 10 RBI and a slugging percentage of .660.
• On April 15, Greg posted his first NL homer off Curt Schilling in his first outfield start.
• He filled in at first base on 13 occasions, with five starts.
• He batted .391 (9-for-23) with a pair of homers and three RBI while at first.
• He made consecutive starts at first base in Texas on July 13 and 14.
• Greg made four appearances, one start, in RF...his only start came on June 29 vs. Arizona...he went 1-for-3 with a run scored in the contest.

OFF THE BENCH...Greg finished the season as one of the most productive pinch hitters in 2001.

• He had 17 pinch hits on the year, ranking him third in the NL.
• He trailed only Lenny Harris (21) of the New York Mets and Arizona's David Dellucci (18) for the most pinch hits.
• Norton had 11 RBI as a pinch hitter, tied for fourth most in the NL.
• Greg notched three of the Rockies' five pinch hit homers this season.
• His first pinch homer came in the eighth inning on June 8 vs. St. Louis, a two run homer in a 9-1 Rockie win.
• His second came on July 7 vs. Anaheim, a lead off homer in the eighth inning.
• The third of his pinch hit homers came on August 5 vs. Pittsburgh, a solo shot on a 2-0 count to RF.

2000

SUMMARY
Greg completed his fifth major league season, and final year with the White Sox, the 2000 AL Central Division Champions.

• Norton with Chicago batted .244 with six homers and 28 RBI in 71 games...he made 56 starts (45 at third base, 10 at first and one as the designated hitter).
• He collected seven multi-RBI games...on April 18 in an 18-11 win vs. Seattle, Greg tied his career best with four RBI (third time), also his season high...in addition to driving in four runs, he went 3-for-4 with a homer.
• The switch hitter picked up 12 multi-hit games...he had a season-best three hits on two occasions the April 18 game vs. Seattle, April 28 at Comerica Park and May 17 at Yankee Stadium (all 3-for-4 efforts).
• In the field, Greg played 47 games at third base, compiling a .926 fielding percentage...he also saw 17 contests at first base (.990).
• At home, he hit .213 (20-for-94) with four homers and 21 RBI.
• On the road, he batted .271 (29-for-107) with two homers and seven RBI.
• After suffering a left ankle sprain May 23 vs. the Yankees, he missed the next six games, through May 29.
• He did not see action in the White Sox division series with Seattle.

OUT OF THE GATES
Norton left Tucson and began the season in strong fashion.

• In April, he batted .333 (20-for-60), tied for third on the club behind Frank Thomas and Josh Paul.
• From April 9 to May 17, he batted .356 (32-for-90) with four homers and 19 RBI.
• In Cactus League games, he hit .461 (35-for-76) with 10 doubles, five homers and 30 RBI...his 30 runs driven in were a Chicago spring training record, bettering the previous mark by nine...his .461 average ranked third in White Sox exhibition history. IN THE LATE INNINGS
  After the seventh inning, he batted 81 points better than innings 1-6.
  • From the seventh on, he batted .296 with (21-for-71) with three homers and 10 RBI...over the first six innings, he hit .215 (28-for-130) with three homers and 18 RBI.
  
  
  HITTING STREAK HITS EIGHT
  Greg compiled an eight-game hitting streak, the longest of his career, April 23-May 1.
  • Over the eight games, he went 12-for-26 (.462) with two doubles, one triple, one homer and seven RBI.
  • From April 23-28, over four games, he turned in three multi-hit efforts...he went 8-for-15 (.533) in the four contests, with a homer and four RBI.
  • It raised his season's average from .243 to .333.
  • Greg's previous long was a pair of seven-game streaks (last May 25 - June 1, 1999).
  
  
  TRANSACTIONS
  After Game 1 of an Aug. 8 doubleheader with Seattle, the White Sox optioned him to Charlotte (AAA)...in his first minor league action in three years, he batted .289 with five homers and 17 RBI in 29 games...Chicago recalled him from Charlotte Sept. 5...Norton got a start the day after his recall, Sept. 6 vs. Texas, and homered and drove in three runs in Chicago's 13-1 win.
  
  SWITCH-HIT POWER
  Greg on April 24 vs. Baltimore homered from the right side, his first such homer since 5/18/98 vs. Seattle...dating back to 6/20/98, his previous 24 homers came from the left side of the plate.

  1999

  Greg enjoyed the best season of his career, setting lifetime bests in most offensive categories.
  • From the left side of the plate, he batted .265 (96-for-362) and .203 (15-for-74) right-handed...he hit all 16 homers and 47 of his 50 RBI left-handed.
  • Norton .293 on the road, and .213 at home...he hit .297 before the all-star break, .227 before it.
  • His .338 September average was a career high for any month...he was 27-for-80 (.338) in his final 23 games.
  • May was the most productive month of his career...he set monthly highs with eight homers and 15 RBI.
  • He earned AL Player of the Week honors for May 24-30 (.423, 11-for-26, five HR, eight RBI and a league leading 29 total bases)...all five homers came during a series at Tiger Stadium, May 27-30.
  • Against the AL playoff quartet (Boston, Cleveland, New York and Texas), he batted .353 (42-for-119).
  
  
  

  1998

  In his first full season with the Sox, he made his first Opening Day roster, shaking off spring training chicken pox...he played mostly first base (79 games), and also made his ML debut at second...he batted .297 at home and .164 on the road, and hit .238 left-handed, compared to .231 right-handed...Chicago was 45-27 (.625) in his 72 starts.

  1997

  Greg made two round-trips between Nashville (AAA) and the White Sox...in 18 major league games, he made six starts, all at third base...he made 33 appearances left-handed and one right-handed...at Triple-A, he paced the American Association in slugging (.534) and finished third in home runs (26).

  1996

  Recalled from Nashville (AAA) Aug. 17, he made his major league debut the next day at Milwaukee (he scored a run as a pinch runner for Harold Baines)...he registered hits in each of his first two ML plate appearances, Aug. 19 at Detroit...he hit his first ML homer, Sept. 14 at Boston (Mike Maddux).

  1995

  At Birmingham (AA), he led Southern League third basemen in fielding (.938)...he earned his club's MVP honors in the Arizona Fall League.

  1994

  With South Bend (A), Norton turned in an 18-game hitting streak, July 22-Aug. 11.

  1993

  Norton made his pro debut at rookie-level Sarasota, before a promotion to Hickory (A).