Norton wins scout of the year honour

* Former minor league OF Wayne Norton has a baseball-shaped heart. ...  

June 11, 1998

By Bob Elliott

Since 1991 when Canadians were included in the draft, the Orioles were non-factors. Last year they selected two players and this June, led all clubs by selecting six of the 30 chosen.

The man watching amateur players from sea to signing sea, as well as standing freezing in the rain this spring and evaluating for Baltimore, is Wayne Norton of Port Moody, B.C.

With six players, four playing in Canada, the other two going to school in the U.S. Norton, one of the founders of the B.C.-based National Baseball Institute, is our annual amateur scout of the year.

Past winners were Buffalo’s Bill Scherrer (Marlins); Ottawa’s Bill McKenzie (Rockies); Whitby’s Tim Harkness (Padres) and Cambridge’s Ed Heather (Blue Jays).

The players Norton scouted, drafted and now will attempt to sign playing here are -- right-hander Dustin Emberly of Weyburn, Sask., in the 10th round; Kitchener reliever Denis Gratton of the Ontario Blue Jays in the 18th; Langton, Ont., right-hander Jason Mandryk of the London juveniles in the 26th and outfielder Brock Ralph, of Raymond, Alta., in the 43rd round. The other two picks were Calgary third baseman Tim Nelson of Hancock Junior College and Terrebonne, Que., right-hander Marc-Andre Houle, of Des Moines Community College.