New Arrival: Derek Norris, c, Tampa Bay Rays

The 2014 Oakland Athletics were pretty amazing…at least in the first half. They had a great pitching staff and a buzz-saw of an offense. The catching was handled by Derek Norris and John Jaso, with Norris getting a majority of the starts.
Unfortunately, Derek Norris, like the rest of the A’s, faded terribly in the second half of the season.

First or Second Half
Split	G	AB	HR	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1st Half	70	197	8	36	41	.294	.402	.477	.879
2nd Half	57	188	2	18	45	.245	.314	.324	.638

Still, it was a solid campaign for Norris: .270/.361/.403 with 10 HR and an OPS+ of 119. Good for 3.0 WAR and an All-Star selection.
Despite the second half fade, it seemed like the A’s were set at catcher for the next couple seasons. But the A’s still traded him away in the 2014 offseason for prospects, handing over catching duties to in-house replacements Stephen Vogt and Josh Phegley.
Norris has struggled ever since the second half of the 2014 season. The power is still there, but he serious contact issues and his defense is alone not good enough to keep him starting.
This card is from 2017 Topps Archives set…its a 2013 Ginter buyback autograph.
Norris was always tough for me to get. The one time I saw the A’s in person he was not friendly and refused to sign the entire weekend. I struggled to even get him via consignment. When I saw this card…I jumped…scoring it for $4. Not bad.

Standard Batting
Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	AB	H	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	Awards
2012	23	OAK	AL	60	209	42	7	34	5	1	21	66	.201	.276	.349	.625	75
2013	24	OAK	AL	98	264	65	9	30	5	0	37	71	.246	.345	.409	.754	110
2014	25	OAK	AL	127	385	104	10	55	2	2	54	86	.270	.361	.403	.763	119	AS
2015	26	SDP	NL	147	515	129	14	62	4	1	35	131	.250	.305	.404	.709	97
2016	27	SDP	NL	125	415	77	14	42	9	2	36	139	.186	.255	.328	.583	58
2017	28	TBR	AL	53	179	36	9	24	1	0	12	48	.201	.258	.380	.637	72
6 Yr	6 Yr	6 Yr	6 Yr	610	1967	453	63	247	26	6	195	541	.230	.304	.380	.684	90
162	162	162	162	162	522	120	17	66	7	2	52	144	.230	.304	.380	.684	90

Collecting Cleveland Baseball Since 1982