On Wednesday night, as teammates connected the dots of Daniel Norris’ absence at summer camp, the Detroit Tigers left-hander sent a group text to the team.

“Hey guys, No. 1, I miss you guys like crazy, I wish I was there, I wish we were all hanging out in the clubhouse having coffee,” Norris said, “But No. 2, take it seriously. Young guys, try not to go out to eat, just stay smart. Sacrifice 2½ months out of this year to be vigilant about it. That’s what’s required — that’s the only way this is going to work.”

Norris knows better than most. In the middle of June, after working out in the morning at the Tigers’ spring training complex in Lakeland, Florida, he took the two-hour drive east to Cocoa Beach for a sunset surf and drove back to his spring home in Tampa in damp board shorts.

Detroit Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris throws to a Los Angeles Angels batter during the second inning of a baseball game in Detroit, Tuesday, May 7, 2019. (Photo: Paul Sancya, AP)

“I felt sickish but I didn’t think much of it, then for like five days, I would wake up in the middle of the night and get out of bed and I’d be dropping sweat off my fingertips, like down my forearms, off my fingertips,” Norris said.

“It was crazy and I was just like, ‘Holy crap,’ and I would get out of bed in the morning and I’d walk to my kitchen and make coffee and I literally felt like I was 75-80 years old, like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is crazy.’”

On June 23, Norris tested positive for the coronavirus. He is unsure how he got it — “I was definitely taking it seriously, wearing my mask” — but Florida recently became a hot-spot for the virus.

After five days of body aches and night sweats — Norris said he did not experience any headaches or fevers, like others have reported in symptoms — he returned to full strength.

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