Brian Norris in happier times. (Shelli Trumbull photo)
The hand.
Brian Norris is a splendid defensive first-baseman, but he’s not so hot at catching falling wine glasses.
The Coupeville High School junior suffered a hand injury right before the start of baseball season when he knocked over a glass while getting up from the dinner table. The glass shattered as it fell and slashed into his hand.
Making matters worse, the emergency room doctor who sewed up the cut failed to notice the tendon in his thumb had been severed. It was only when he went to his normal doctor to have the stitches removed that the more serious injury was detected.
Now, instead of being able to return and join his Wolf teammates on the field, Norris will be seeing a specialist Friday for surgery to have the tendon reconnected (“I don’t know if it has a special name. You could make one up if you wanted to. That’d be cool”) and will be looking at 12 weeks of rehab, effectively ending his season before it can begin.
“I am looking on the bright side. I get to use my thumb and that is what is really important,” Norris said. “Don’t get me wrong. I will miss it (baseball) but having full use of my thumb for the rest of my life is pretty important.”
His presence will be missed on the field, said Wolf coach Willie Smith.
“It’ll make us a little thinner in depth,” Smith said. “Obviously we will miss Brian defensively and he was really swinging the bat well.”
Norris remains connected with the team, however, as he maintains a presence in the dugout during games, using an iPad to help keep stats for his coach. Or something like that.
“I try to beat his (Smith’s) Bejeweled score,” Norris joked.
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