Bud Norris

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David Stefan Norris

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Bud Norris was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 6th round of the 2006 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Dennis Twombley and made his pro debut that summer.

On August 12, 2009, Norris became the first Astros rookie to win his first 3 starts. He went 6-3, 4.53 that first year, but has not had a winning record since. In 2010, he was 9-10, 4.92 and in 2011 6-11, 3.77. He deserved a better fate that season, as his ERA+ was at 100, and he struck out 176 batters in 186 innings. However, the Astros were a wretched tema that year, setting a franchise record for losses.

The Astros had another terrible year in 2012, their last as a National League team, and Norris was at the center of it. He went winless from May 21st to September 26th, losing 12 times in 18 starts before recording a 2-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the team's last home game of the year. He finished the season at 7-13, 4.65 in 29 starts, pitching 168 1/3 innings with 165 strikeouts. Still, he was named the Astros' Opening Day starter for the 2013 season and defeated the Texas Rangers, 8-2, to become the first pitcher to record a win for the Astros in the American League. On July 31st, his record was only 6-9, but he had pitched quite well, with a 3.93 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 126 innings, when he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles at the trading deadline. The Astros obtained OF L.J. Hoes and minor league P Josh Hader in return. Ironically, his first start for his new team came on August 1st against the Astros; he pitched 6 solid innings in which he gave up 2 runs on 4 hits to be credited with a 6-3 win. He went 4-3 in 11 games for the O's to finish the season at 10-12, 4.18 with 147 strikeouts.

Norris had his best season in the major leagues in 2014, helping the Orioles to winning the AL East title by a large margin. He went 15-8, 3.65 in 28 starts, pitching 165 1/3 innings. He struck out 139 batters but led the AL with 14 hit batsmen. He won Game 3 of the ALDS, 2-1, over the Detroit Tigers, to complete a three-game sweep, but allowed 4 runs in 4 1/3 innings in Game 2 of the ALCS against the Kansas City Royals. While he ended up with a no-decision, the Orioles lost the game, 6-4, and were swept in the series.

He made his first start of the 2015 season in the Orioles' home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 10th, but in spite of an excellent career record at home (much, much better than his road record), he was badly roughed up that day. The Jays scored 4 runs off him in the first inning, and he left without having recorded an out in the 4th, eventually being charged with 8 runs, all earned, and a 12-5 loss. His ERA stood at 17.42 after 3 starts, and he had allowed the most earned runs in the American League, before he earned his first win on April 26th, 18-7 over the Boston Red Sox. However, he never managed to turn things around completely and was 2-9, 7.06 on July 31st when he was designated for assignment by the Orioles in one of a number of moves made by the team that day. He soon found a job with the San Diego Padres. He made 20 appearances for the Friars, all in relief, going 1-2, 5.40 but striking out 21 in 16 2/3 innings. A free agent after the season, he signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Braves on November 25th with the hope of putting his career back on track.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Ken Gurnick: "For Norris, competition is par for the course: When off mound, Dodgers right-hander loves to play golf", mlb.com, August 23, 2016. [1]

Related Sites[edit]

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