Daniel Norris is one of Major League Baseball's top prospects. When the left-handed pitcher joined the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011, he scored a $2 million signing bonus.
Despite his wealth, Norris is spending spring training living behind a Walmart in a van he bought for $10,000.
The elusive van you've been hearing about just rolled into Dunedin with @DanielNorris18 #BaseballBegins
The 1978 Volkswagon minibus' name is Shaggy, after the Scooby-Doo character.
As for Norris himself, Walmart employees have dubbed him Van Man, ESPN reports.
Norris spent three weeks driving from his home in Tennessee to Dunedin, Florida, for spring training.
In case you're wondering..... #vanlife
The Blue Jays don't quite get it, but they accept him nonetheless.
"He's in great shape. He competes on the mound," Toronto's Assistant General Manager Tony LaCava told ESPN. "If that wasn't the case, maybe we'd be more worried about some of the other stuff. But right now, the van and all that is secondary. He has great values, and they're working for him."
Some people assume the Van Man can't make ends meet.
Napping in my van at whole foods. Dude comes up to me with cash saying his brother was homeless for a bit & he's praying for me........... 😳
But Norris says he's always been an outdoors-y minimalist.
I rely on adventure to keep me alive. Bc when things go wrong on the road I'm forced to grow up & answer my own questions. #vanlife
"What I'll do, if baseball goes well, is I'll become even more of an ambassador for the things I really care about," he told ESPN. "I'll make sure Shaggy's still running. I'll pioneer change in how sports thinks about the environment."
Yesterday's hike 👍 #explore
It's a rough life.
All is well with my soul. #jklivin