Millionare Baseball Player Lives The Simple Life - Love it!

Meet Daniel Norris pitcher for the Blue Jay's.



Talk about money not changing someone, this guy is definitely an inspiration.

The Man In the Van

*THE FUTURE* of the Toronto Blue Jays wakes up in a 1978 Volkswagen camper behind the dumpsters at a Wal-Mart and wonders if he has anything to eat. He rummages through a half-empty cooler until he finds a dozen eggs. "I'm not sure about these," he says, removing three from the carton, studying them, smelling them and finally deciding it's safe to eat them. While the eggs cook on a portable stove, he begins the morning ritual of cleaning his van, pulling the contents of his life into the parking lot. Out comes a surfboard. Out comes a subzero sleeping bag. Out comes his only pair of jeans and his handwritten journals. A curious shopper stops to watch. "Hiya," Daniel Norris says, waving as the customer walks away into the store. Norris turns back to his eggs. "I've gotten used to people staring," he says.

Great philosophy.

"It's like a yin-and-yang thing for me," he says. "I'm not going to change who I am just because people think it's weird. The only way I'm going to have a great season is by starting out happy and balanced and continuing to be me. It might be unconventional, but to feel good about life I need to have some adventure."

Wouldn't it be great if more people started to enjoy their lives like this person?

For him it's not a money thing, or wanting more he has chosen to enjoy his life and not let society mold him.

Oh man, to think living down by the river in the van was the plan all along!


Apologies couldn't resist.

We might all be a little happier if we lived a minimalist life, instead of the trappings of consumerism. We get caught on the hedonistic treadmill and no matter how much junk we acquire we feel the desire for a little more. gimmie mo. Nice to see money didn't change him, if he is happy that's all that matters. Most of us aren't we are in pursuit.

a reply to: Lysergic

I'm typically not a fan type person, but this man has my utmost admiration, and has inspired me.

Alas, the article tells the world that Dunedin. Florida is his sandbox (W & n of Tampa)

wow, the Van photo and the info in the story sure makes him a potential target

espn didn't do him no favor

It unsettled him in those first months to see so many zeros on his bank account balance -- "Who am I to deserve that?" he wondered. "What have I really done?"

I agree, athletes are overpaid. Sports are a tool to manipulate men as bad as QVC is to women, lol.

...so he hired financial advisers and asked them to stash the money in conservative investments where Norris wouldn't have to think about it.

Sad really. The leeches saw an opportunity and started sucking. They deposit $800 dollars a month into his account for "living" expenses while his adviser lives a padded life off the back of a great man.

Thanks for a good read even though ESPN isn't really helping his reclusive lifestyle. He probably had to find a 24hr Rite-Aid to park at after they blew up his spot.

a reply to: Realtruth

I think it is ridiculous that ESPN went and published information about his favourite park up spots, given that these are essentially his home addresses.

That aside, the story of this man and how he has not allowed the prospect of fame and fortune to shift him from his way of life, needed telling. Perhaps the fact that this man can be successful at his chosen path, AND maintain a rigorously individual lifestyle, without falling into the same old patterns we see others fall into in the realm of fame and fortune, will inspire others to maintain their moral values when taking up professions which see them thrust into the limelight.

Here in Britain, we have footballers who get paid obscene amounts of money, drive fast cars badly, screw anything that moves (some, with or without consent), and live in gaudy, multi million pound piles in the country, or expensive townhouses. They pay no mind to anything much, beyond their own interests.

This man is showing that the trappings of sporting fame are not automatically toxic, that determination to remain who one is when one enters a profession, can be beneficial.

Also... consider this. The things that make this man a good pitcher, are the fact that he has experience in self reliance, has endurance that has been bred into him by his outdoors lifestyle, and the fact that he eats right and does not waste his bodily resources. He lives a tranquil life, and understands better than most, the value of calm, and how to acheive it even when the chips are down. Many sports persons shed what preparation they do in their early lives, forget lessons learned by their lives before finding fame, and some of these eventually lose what makes them so good at what they do.

This man, I would wager, will not. Solid as a rock.

Good for him if this is what he enjoys.

So what does he do with the money he makes from baseball? Surely he doesn't need those millions to live in a van, right? Does he just give it away?

My point being, I see people on ATS always bashing millionaire athletes. Find an athlete who lives like a hippy (which I have no problem with), and everyone says it's cool. He's still getting paid huge sums of money so what's the difference?

I should also add, I don't care how much athletes get. If they have the skills that demand millions, more power to them.

a reply to: jtrenthacker

So what does he do with the money he makes from baseball? Surely he doesn't need those millions to live in a van, right? Does he just give it away?

His financial advisor ties it all up in conservative investments and deposits $800 dollars into his account each month to cover travel and living expenses.

He's still getting paid huge sums of money so what's the difference?

His hand isn't out waiting for it to be filled like some others. Lack of entitlement.

I should also add, I don't care how much athletes get. If they have the skills that demand millions, more power to them.

Since when is running with a ball, hitting a ball or putting a ball through a hoop considered a "skill" that is justifiably proportionate to what they get compensated?

Its about entertainment and putting as many people's asses into that couch. Lethargic do-nothings, unlikely to cause the government any problems while they erode our rights. Smoke and mirrors while the real stuff is happening outside of their obsessions.

I've seen people spend their entire waking day learning everything they could from the day before, updating stats, having to know every name of every player on every team. Imagine if that obsession and energy was focused onto identifying and battling corruption. Unleashing a crowd of angry soccer fans on Capitol Hill sounds like a good idea to me!

Its a costly illusion to maintain. Once in a while some great athlete comes along and totally redefines the sport. Until that happens, I don't take much notice.

a reply to: eisegesis

His financial advisor ties it all up in conservative investments and deposits $800 dollars into his account each month to cover travel and living expenses.

So he has millions in conservative investments. He is still getting paid "obscene" amounts of money.

His hand isn't out waiting for it to be filled like some others. Lack of entitlement.

Again, so what? I mean good for him, but as far as I know he's not turning down the money either. He's investing it which is smart. Either way he is still worth millions.

Since when is running with a ball, hitting a ball or putting a ball through a hoop considered a "skill" that is justifiably proportionate to what they get compensated?

Since that's what the market value dictates in professional sports. If Lebron James gets paid 5 million a year but adds more value than that for the team he plays on, then that is what he's worth. The top athletes get paid a lot because there are very few on this earth with their skill set. It's not the athletes fault the system is the way it is. If I was offered a multi-million dollar contract for putting a ball in the net, I would do it in a heartbeat. So would many others including critics of "overpaid" athletes.