Norris Hopper

Norris Stephen Hopper is a professional baseball played from the United States of America and plays as an outfielder. Hopper went to the Shelby High School and played football and baseball for his school. Despite his baseball abilities, Hopper was considered to be a sensational football player and a brilliant quarterback.

However, he decided to pursue his baseball career after high school and in 2003, began playing in the Cincinnati minor league affiliates after remaining undrafted. In 2003, he joined the AA-league with Wichita in the Texas League and had a .300 hitting average. The following year, he stayed with Wichita and was ranked 6th in the Texas League with another year of .300 with the bat. He moved to Chattanooga in the AA-Southern League and with a .310 batting average, was ranked 7th amongst all Reds' minor league players.

In 2005, Hopper was part of the Southern League All-Star game and had a 21-game hitting streak in the season.

His Major League debut came in 2006 when he walked out with the Reds in a #30 jersey, previously worn by Ken Griffey, Jr. He had two stints with the Reds in 2006 and made 21 starts in both his stints. He had 9 starts in the season and had a .361 average in his 19 appearances in September. He played for the Louisville Bats and was named to an International League All-Star as well as the most valuable player for the Bats. His batting average of .347 was the highest in the history of the Franchisee.

Hopper was second overall amongst the National League Rookies in 2007 with a .329 batting average. He was third in terms of on-base percentage with a .371 average; was 4th in offensive assists with 5 and had 51 runs in the season with 101 hits.

In August, he won the National League Rookie of the Month award after leading the entire league with a .425 batting average. He ended the season with a batting average of .329.

Hopper continued to be a great prospect for the Reds through 2008 and he fell in terms of his batting average which dropped to .200 while his on-base percentage dropped to .286. His poorer performance meant that he will be a back-up outfielder for the Reds in the 2009 season.