Ultimate Mets Database - Memories of Dan Norman

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Memories of
Dan Norman

Dan Norman
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 164 of 1234 players

Daniel Edmund Norman
Born: January 11, 1955 at Los Angeles, Cal.
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Height: 6.02 Weight: 195

Dan Norman was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on June 15, 2008, November 21, 2011, November 21, 2013, January 18, 2014, May 2, 2014, July 17, 2014, February 11, 2017, March 21, 2022, and June 2, 2022.

First Mets game: September 27, 1977
Last Mets game: October 5, 1980

Share your memories of Dan Norman

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Eric B
I remember they called him "Stormin' Dan Norman"

Mr. Sparkle
He was supposed to be a blue-chipper coming over for Seaver. I think he was worse than Gene Clines, if such a concept is possible.

Mike
High socks, he wore his socks really high. The anti-George Hendrick (the 90-100+ RBI guy for St. Louis) Norman was the anti George Hendrick with the bat too.

Don Hahn Merlis
August 13, 2001
How about when some brain on the Mets coaching staff decided that he should become a switch hitter. Like he didn't have problems hitting from his natural side.

Herman "Denny" Farrell
August 31, 2001
According to radio personality Jody MacDonald, his dad, Mets President/GM/whatever Joe, asked him about the Seaver trade. Jody, back then a teenager, said to make the trade if the Reds included Norman...

STEVE B
May 22, 2002
With the Mets desperate for anyone with power the Mets called up "Stormin'" and tried to teach him to switch hit at the major league level. Problem was he had a hard enough time from his natural side!

Dennis From Jersey
July 18, 2002
My favorite Dan Norman memory was when he came to bat one time and Bob Murphy ("DEEP fly ball . . . . . playable . . . ") introduced him as "Dan Norman. You know, Dan possesses power from both sides of the plate." At that point in the season he had hit one homer righty and one homer lefty and the season was almost over.

bunker
August 13, 2002
Last time I saw Dan Norman he was on "Family Feud". Seriously.

Metsmind
December 27, 2002
The Jody Mac story (above) is true. I used to play poker with Jody and he admitted to it years ago.

Bob R.
January 8, 2003
Anybody remember Dick Young, the Daily News columnist? He said the Seaver trade was a good one for the Mets. He thought Norman would be a star but it didn't happen that way. It turns out Young's son in law was working for the Mets then and he just wrote the company line. Shameful. Young was a great columnist who sold out at the end.

Dale
February 21, 2003
Dan Norman is alive and well in the high desert. He cherishes his memories playing major league baseball and now he teaches baseball to kids in little league. He is a very wonderful man to all the people that he knows. To this day he still signs baseball cards and other stuff to the fans of baseball.

Joe Figliola
February 28, 2003
You guys are being a little too hard on Dan. As a teenager, I thought he had all the tools to be a good everyday player. What the Mets should have done was to immediately throw him in the lineup alongside Steve Henderson to see what he could do. The result could have been two young outfielders with power that they could have built on.
Another reason why I thought Dan's development was stilted was that schmucko Torre made him the team's premier pinch hitter in 1980 (Dan's lone full year with the club). You don't do that to a 25-year old kid with potential. How do you gain experience in that capacity? You can only learn so much on the bench.
I vaguely recall the switch-hitting experiment. That was another fiasco. Had they let Dan alone, he might have been helpful to the club. But, as they say, too many cooks...

Doug
June 2, 2003
Met him at Met Photo Day in 1980 on the field at Shea. Very nice guy. Big gut.

Jonathan Stern
December 31, 2004
Jody MacDonald told the story of his role in the Tom Seaver deal this past summer on his WFAN radio show. He thought Norman was the real deal and begged his father to have the Reds include him in the swap. Jody joked that had Norman been what he thought he'd be, he might have followed in his father's footsteps as a baseball executive. Sadly, Jody Mac lost his WFAN job a few weeks ago. Guess he couldn't shake the late-70's Mets out of his system.
Must be interesting to be Dan Norman. The man achieved immortality just by being a part of the Tom Seaver Midnight Massacre. He did almost nothing else in the bigs. It's strange, but for some reason, I still feel like he and Steve Henderson are about to have their breakout years. Well, it's nice to be remembered for something.

Maria O.
July 26, 2005
It seems funny to read others opinions about Danny Norman. It makes one upset enough to e-mail something back! Especially when back in the day I was and still am a true Dan Norman fan.
I truly believe the Mets made the right decision when they picked Danny for New York. Possibly the wrong decision was having Torre as the coach. Danny Norman was a hard player; there was never a time that this player did not give 100% In fact baseball became his religion (so to speak).
There were many times I sat in the stands aware of the 'power' this man had in his upper body. And they just did not give him a chance. Instead they wanted Lee Mazzilli. That became in my eyes Torre's biggest mistake!
Steve B. for your information Danny Norman started out hitting as a southpaw when he was a kid. A coach talked him into changing. Do your research, read your facts. He always was a switch hitter. He was and still is one of the finest players in the game. People just don't remember 'Stormin Norman' because he was traded. They remember him because everyone knew he was a fine player. He could have made it big if only Joe Torre wasn't the Mets coach.

Bob R
August 27, 2005
Maria, I have to disagree with you about Dan Norman's talent. To blame Joe Torre or anyone else for Norman's lack of success is silly. If Norman was a real big-league talent, he would have made it with some big-league team besides the Mets. He was traded to the Expos but struck out with them, too. No team chose to take a chance on him after that. Major League teams can't afford to let real talented ballplayers slip away. In Norman's case, I'm afraid they simply recognized that Norman wasn't up to big- league standards. It's that simple. I saw Norman play and while he certainly seemed to have potential, he never quite pulled it all together. Sad but true.

Maria O.
July 1, 2006
Bobby Baby, Do your research. It was not because of Dan Norman's lack of ability. Something happened in Florida that really black listed Norman's career. I do know this story because I was and still remain an avid Mets fan. Sorry, but I am correct on this one.

Carmelia
October 6, 2006
I recently met up with the man who escorted me to the prom during my junior year at Kennedy High School in Barstow, Calif. Our conversation turned to other high school matters and Dan (it was Danny then) Norman's name came up. Dan Norman was my prom date when I was a senior at Kennedy. Dan was a good kid and a respectful and kind person.

SHAWNA
March 16, 2007
Dan Norman still lives in Barstow and coaching for the Barstow college. He still talks about his memories playing baseball and always signing baseball cards and pictures for everyone. He is a sweet person and a great baseball player.

Elaine
September 23, 2007
I come from Quebec (CANADA) I met Dan when he was at Trois-Rivieres. He is a very nice person and he is a very generous person too. I never forget you Dan Norman. Elaine.

Joey D.
September 23, 2007
I know Danny Norman as a coach. I play for him at Barstow college. I see him just about every day. He is a very good guy and he makes baseball fun but keeps us focused at the same time. which is very hard to do. I don't know much about his talent as a player, but he definitely knows a ton about the game of baseball.
I just met him for the first time a few months ago and right off the bat I knew I would have a good experience playing for him. I have played at a few colleges before and tore up my shoulder. After surgery I still wanted to pitch. Danny didn't mind my rehabilitating shoulder. In fact he welcomed me into Barstow and has been helping me out ever since. He is an awesome guy and I have to say that he is the best coach I have had in college baseball yet.
We aren't even allowed to call him Coach Norman. He asks to go by Danny. No matter how he did in his baseball career, I'll always look up to him as a coach and a person. I am a huge Mets fan and Danny Norman is good in my book.

gary beasley
October 6, 2008
I played high school football and basketball with Danny. He comes from a wonderful family of outstanding athletes and it was a blessing to be his friend and teammate.
I also played little league baseball against him. He was a pitcher. (No one could hit him, but he hurt his arm in high school and became an everyday outfielder.) Our coach told us to intentionally walk him every time up. One game we were winning by a lot so the coach said go ahead and pitch to him. If I recall right he hit 3 consecutive home runs.
Not many young men ever make it to the big leagues. Danny did. He was a big leaguer in every way; as a player and as a man.

Jay
April 27, 2009
Dan Norman as a Met was not allowed to shine as a big leaguer. He faced a difficult challenge playing behind Mazzilli and playing under Torre. I look back on those days, and I still question Torre's decision making. He did give Henderson a break, but Hendu was a left-fielder and Norman was a right-fielder with an extremely good arm. And Mazzilli was the Mets Golden Boy. The proper placement for Norman would have been center field with his speed and arm strength and to give him the confidence to be a team leader. But instead they gave way to Mazzilli and Torre, and that flatulated all over the 80's.

gary beasley
April 27, 2009
I played high school football and basketball with Danny. He comes from a wonderful family of outstanding athletes and it was a blessing to be his friend and teammate.
I also played little league baseball against him. He was a pitcher. No one could hit him, but he hurt his arm in high school and became an everyday outfielder. Our coach told us to intentionally walk him every time up. One game we were winning by a lot so the coach said go ahead and pitch to him. If I recall right he hit 3 consecutive home runs.
Not many young men ever make it to the big leagues. Danny did. He was a big leaguer in every way; as a player and as a man.

Dutch
June 16, 2010
I had high hopes for Dan Norman when he came to the Mets because he was from the Reds system and they always seemed to find good hitters. Unfortunately, it did not work out. My main memory of Norman was Bob Murphy saying: "Dan Norman has a world of power, but there is something in the mechanics of his swing that keeps him from hitting for a high average." Typical Murphyism - telling it like it is, but in a kind way.

Steve T.
July 13, 2010
The unfortunate thing is that no matter what he did for the Mets, he will always be a footnote in Mets history. Had he been traded to the Mets for any other player,then he wouldn't have the stigma attached to his name about one of the players in the Tom Seaver deal. Dan, you were a class act with the Mets. A very tough situation to come to.

Don J
September 5, 2011
Did he and Lee Mazzilli have a violent outfield collision in Dodger Stadium in either 1979 or 1980? Kind of like Beltran and Mike Cameron.

Larry Tennant
January 1, 2012
Played high school football with Danny....great player with an even better attitude. Glad to hear he's doing well back on our old stomping ground.

Marty
December 27, 2012
I do believe Danny (Stormin' Norman) Norman and Lee Mazzilli had a collision. If I'm not mistaken Lee Mazzilli was taken to the hospital that day. That's the kind of 'power' Danny Norman possessed. Great player; always gave 110%. Always.

S. Aaron
September 25, 2013
Wow, great to see people commenting about Dan Norman. Dan never had a true chance with the Mets. His minor league records were very similar to Steve Henderson's (check them out). They came up through Cincy organization. From their rookie ball club in Billings, Mt. at least 8 players from that team played in the Majors. Joe Torre had him playing behind Rusty Staub and never gave him a real chance to shine, even though Staub was at the end of his career. Mazzilli had all the opportunities to play every day. But even with him playing Henderson in LF, Mazzilli in CF, Norman in RF, the Mets would have been set for a long time. So, the young man who wanted Norman as part of the Seaver deal called it right. Unfortunately, he was not given the chance to really show what he could do. Not just anybody got to the majors back then. It took some work to get there and he did. Unfortunately, some decisions are not based on talent.

Tom L
October 12, 2013
S. Aaron- Rusty and Dan were never on the same team. Rusty was traded to Detroit long before Dan got to the Mets. Even if he was still with the Mets as Dan's teammate, he was playing some of the best baseball of his career in the late 70's. You don't bench a guy hitting 20 HR's and driving in 100 runs to replace him with 'potential'.

John Morton
March 5, 2019
Can't remember what year it was, but the Mets had a Picture Day where the fans were allowed around the warning track to take pictures of the Mets players. Frank Taveras waved the fans on to come over the barriers and on to the grass. A friend of mine and I met Stormin' Dan Norman and were telling him all about his career. I think he was flattered. When the police came to push the fans back on to the warning track, Norman told them, "It's OK. They're with me." and we hung out with him a while longer in center field. What a fun memory! :)

K
October 12, 2022
It is fun to read all the comments about Dan; I know him as Danny. He is a sweet guy, will argue his point and loves God & Reggae music. Being a professional athlete comes with so many stories, trials and tribulations that no single fan or family member will ever know about; I am learning that first hand as a sports agent (NBA). I want to thank all of you for sharing stories about my uncle during the time before I was even born!