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A portrait of a pitcher: Daniel Norris' journey to find perspective

sggatecl

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Always enjoy reading about this guy, Tiger or not. I only quoted the first secton, it's a pretty long read but worth it imo.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14673929/daniel-norris-journey-find-perspective

Ben Moon had come very close to selling it on Craigslist. The renowned adventure photographer and filmmaker was switching over to Sony as a brand ambassador and had found a potential buyer for his Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II portrait lens, even though the guy didn't immediately have the cash. Still, the idea of parting with the lens like that just didn't sit well. It left Moon with a sinking feeling in his stomach, thinking of a collector's item, potentially going unused. He had shot his own mentors and heroes with that lens, along with surf legends, musicians, activists and yogis. The lens had sentimental meaning beyond just financial value.

So he texted Daniel Norris instead.

The two had previously struck up a friendship on Instagram through their mutual love of photography. And although Moon has a bevy of experience -- his work has appeared in National Geographic, GQ, People Magazine and The New York Times -- and Norris was still a relative novice in the domain, Moon saw some photos that really intrigued him on the young pitcher's social media page.

One day, he commented on one of Norris' photos and Norris subsequently "fanned out," Moon recalls. Norris direct messaged him to let Moon know he was one of Norris' icons. The two began talking and found out they had a ton in common. So, when Moon had to part with this instrumental piece of his photography equipment, he felt better knowing it would be in good hands.

He asked Norris if he wanted it. And Norris did.

Norris told Moon he would be honored to have it, that it would forever be a sacred piece.

What Norris ended up doing with that lens blew Moon away. The 22-year-old, left-handed pitcher for the Detroit Tigers -- who first made headlines with his unconventional offseason routine of living in an old Volkswagen van and later revealed he had been diagnosed with cancer during his rookie season -- showed a real gift with that lens. Sometimes he would practice on his friends within the clubhouse, while at other times he'd seek out complete strangers. When the team made road trips to Kansas City and Cleveland in September, he ventured out to local homeless communities, where he sought out interesting people, learned their names, and -- with their permission -- tried to tell a bit of their stories.
 
I read about him before the trade. The whole living in a van by Walmart deal. Interesting guy and I have no doubt he will pull through this cancer bit. Definitely a good soul. Would be great to see his career take off.
 
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