Kevin McNorton: Small Town Man Chasing Big League Dreams

By: Hope Finley

Tommy McNorton thought his baseball days would be over after graduating from The University of Montevallo.

Tommy and Kevin McNorton

“When I graduated college I thought I was done with baseball. I really didn’t want to get involved because I had spent so many hours practicing,” said Tommy.

What he didn’t know, is that after meeting Jan, the woman who would become his wife, and starting a family his baseball days were far from over.

“When you happen by a baseball field and kids are laughing and clapping and having a good time, it puts you back in that mood to want to get involved. After having a son, and he decided he wanted to play baseball, it became part of our family,” said Tommy.

Tommy and Jan’s son, Kevin, graduated from Shelby County High School in 2010. He found out just before graduation that he would attend Wallace State Community College on a baseball scholarship.

After attending Wallace, Kevin attended Stillman College to continue his education and continue playing baseball. From Stillman, Kevin attended the University of Tampa where he obtained his degree in Mathematics, while still playing ball.

Kevin McNorton pitching for the Joliet Slammers

“Up until this point I’ve never had to search for things. I’m a firm believer in if you do the right things and keep your nose clean, as my dad always said, and respect people, good things will happen and opportunities will find themselves. I threw a baseball at all the places I went, it was just kind of something that happened. I didn’t know I was going to play college baseball until May…right before we graduated high school, and it’s always been like that…opportunity…go,” said Kevin.

Kevin is now a relief pitcher for the Independent Minor League team, the Joliet Slammers.

One of the biggest obstacles for Kevin’s parents is not knowing if he will play each game.

The McNorton Family

“We sit through a lot of games as the parents of a relief pitcher, we’ve been to a lot of games where he never comes in, but that’s okay because were there, whether were physic

ally there or via the internet and we wait and we watch until we see that number in the bull pen warming up.” said Jan McNorton, Kevin’s mother.

Although he may not play, Kevin and his teammates can always count on his parents to be there to cheer them on.

“When I was in junior college I don’t think they missed a game, and I didn’t play. That was the most impressing thing to me, because I didn’t...I didn’t play but they were there hooting and hollering for whoever was,” said Kevin.