News
Norton trying to recapture old glory
Veteran after past pinch-hit success in Braves' playoff drive
By Mark Bowman / MLB.com
09/03/09 8:24 PM ET
MIAMI -- When the Braves signed Greg Norton to a one-year, $850,000 deal during the offseason, they were confident that they'd stocked their bench with a solid presence. During the 2008 season, no Major League player had compiled more pinch-hit homers (three) or pinch-hit RBIs (18).In his 74 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter last year, Norton hit .316 and compiled a .473 on-base percentage.
Hopeful that Norton would be able to suddenly regain the pinch-hit success that he's possessed throughout much of his career, Braves manager Bobby Cox has continued to send Norton to the plate in key situations and too often witnessed disappointing results.
With runners at the corners and one out during the seventh inning of Wednesday night's game against the Marlins, the Braves had the momentum that Chipper Jones had generated just two batters earlier with his three-run double.
But within a span of five pitches, Norton deadened the rally by striking out against Marlins rookie reliever Tim Wood.
"Going home last night, I felt like I lost us the game," said Norton, who had drawn a 2-1 count and seemingly put himself in good position to at least manage to lift a sacrifice fly.
Cox could have chosen to send either Kelly Johnson or Brooks Conrad to the plate during that key situation of Wednesday night's 8-7 loss. In addition, he could have sent either Johnson or Omar Infante to the plate to face Phillies closer Brad Lidge with two outs in the ninth inning of Sunday night's 3-2 loss to Philadelphia.
But on both occasions, Cox opted to call upon Norton, who has hit .167 with a .357 on-base percentage in 78 pinch-hit appearances this year.
"He's been hitting some balls real good," Cox said of Norton, who had hit .250 with a .478 on-base percentage during his 23 previous games entering Wednesday.
When Norton delivered a game-tying pinch-hit single in the sixth inning of an Aug. 1 win over the Dodgers, he talked about how as a pinch-hitter he's more concerned about his number of significant contributions than the numbers that make up his batting average.
While Norton said that he hasn't lost his confidence, he admits that he's pushing to somehow make the contributions that would reward Cox for the loyalty he's shown him this year.
"It's every player's dream to play for a manager like Bobby Cox," Norton said. "Because he's stuck with me, I don't know if the right thing to say is that I feel bad, but I'm hoping for him and the team that I'll be able to come through a few more times this year."
Mark Bowman is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
