Gregory Blakemoor Norton (born July 6, 1972) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

corner infielder. He spent 13 years in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) with six teams from 1996 through 2009. Since his retirement as a player, he has worked in 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 Nort ...

system of the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

, served as a coach for

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

, and was the minor league hitting coordinator 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Early life

Born in

San Leandro, California San Leandro (Spanish language, Spanish for "Leander of Seville, St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland, California, Oakland to the northwe ...

, Norton attended the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. In 1992, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the Chatham A's of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

and was named a league all-star. Norton's father Jerry was arrested and later convicted of murder after the 1989 strangulation death of his wife. Jerry Norton was later sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

Norton made his major league debut on August 18, for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, entering the game against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

in the eighth inning as a pinch-runner for

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

Harold Baines. He would score his first run three batters later on a two-out RBI single by

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

Tony Phillips Keith Anthony Phillips (April 25, 1959 – February 17, 2016) was an American professional baseball utility player who had an 18-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1982 to 1999. He played regularly at second base, but also had signifi ...

. Norton would get his first major league base hit the very next night against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, when he singled against reliever José Lima as a pinch-hitter. His most productive year in Chicago came in , when he hit .255 while recording 50 RBI and hitting 16 homers despite splitting playing time at first base with 3 other players (including slugger Frank Thomas).

Colorado Rockies

Playing for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

from the season until , Norton compiled a .252 batting average in 344 games played. Norton played four positions for the Rockies his first year with the team, including starting at first base for All-Star Todd Helton for the only five games Helton rested that year. In his final year with the Rockies, Norton led the majors in successful pinch hits and pinch-hit RBI. However, he was granted free agency at the end of the 2003 season.

Detroit Tigers

was a forgettable year for Norton, as he split time with the

and their minor-league team in Toledo. Tigers first baseman Carlos Peña led the team in home runs that year, leaving very little room for Norton. A knee inflammation also kept him on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

for over a month.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

On January 11, , Norton signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He was brought up to the majors on April 26 when Jorge Cantú was placed on the

. In Norton's first year as a D-Ray, he bested his season home run total (17) and started a career high 26 games in

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

. He missed making the Opening Day roster while going under the knife to surgically repair his right knee. On

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...

, May 14, 2006, Norton was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat to benefit th
Breast Cancer Foundation

Seattle Mariners

On February 13, , Norton signed a minor league contract with an invitation to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners 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 ...

. He was purchased from the minors and added to the active roster on April 11, when Charlton Jimerson was designated for assignment. On April 30, Norton was designated for assignment despite batting .438 in 16

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 upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

Atlanta Braves

On May 5, Norton was traded to 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

for cash considerations. In 2008, Norton led the major leagues in pinch hit home runs, with three. On December 19, 2008, Norton signed a one-year contract worth $800,000 to return to the Braves. In 2009, he collected only 11 hits in 76 at-bats with Atlanta.

Coaching career

Norton began a coaching career within the

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

in 2010, acting as

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisi ...

and then

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of the

New Orleans Zephyrs New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

. In July 2013, he was named

for the Auburn Tigers baseball program. Norton left his position in the Marlins organization to join coach Sunny Golloway at Auburn. In January 2016, Norton was hired by the

to be the team's

hitting coordinator. The Red Sox declined to renew Norton's contract after the 2021 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Greg 1972 births Living people Atlanta Braves players Birmingham Barons players Charlotte Knights players Chatham Anglers players Chicago White Sox players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Detroit Tigers players Durham Bulls players Gulf Coast White Sox players Gwinnett Braves players Hickory Crawdads players Major League Baseball designated hitters Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball third basemen Minor league baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers Montgomery Biscuits players Nashville Sounds players Oklahoma Sooners baseball players Sportspeople from San Leandro, California Baseball players from Alameda County, California Seattle Mariners players South Bend Silver Hawks players Tacoma Rainiers players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela University of Oklahoma alumni Auburn Tigers baseball coaches