Norman Ramsey

#33 - OF (profile)

Norman attended several games as a spectator during the taxmen’s inaugural 1996 season before joining the squad as a player prior to the 1997 season.

Once recruited, Norman was designated as a starting outfielder, playing alongside regulars Jim Chakulski and Scott Deslaurier. By 1997, Frank Milardo had begun shifting his focus to soccer and played fewer games, while Earnest Baldwin had given up outfield duties in favor of joining the pitching rotation full-time.

It was during the 1997 Easter Seals Softball Weekend that Norman had one of the finest catches ever made by a DRS outfielder. An opposing slugger crushed a ball deep into the gap, and Norman ran a long, long way before reaching out backhanded and making a tumbling grab. Later in the day, he caught another fly ball and fired to double up a baserunner trying to tag and score. Along with his glovework, Norman managed to go 2 for 3 at the plate, score 2 runs, and knock in 3 runs with a homerun, helping to lead the taxmen to their first-ever win in the annual charity tournament.

His best outing came in a heated contest against Haymond Law at the St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield. (For the record, every game played between DRS and Haymond could be described as a heated contest – when playing a team of lawyers, there was always a certain amount of bickering and arguing to be expected.) Not only did Norman rap 4 base hits and score a pair of runs, but at point raced in from the outfield to single-handedly prevent a bench-clearing brawl after one of the Haymond players walked onto the diamond and started talking trash.

Following the 1997 campaign, Norman was voted the team’s rookie of the year by his teammates. Over the course of the season, he batted .571, scored 17 runs, had 12 RBIs, and stroked 3 doubles, a triple, and 2 homeruns.

Norman continued to play with DRS on a part-time basis in 1998, but stopped playing altogether after the end of the season. He still keeps up with the latest team news and loves to see his name mentioned in the team’s post-game recaps.