R.I.P. Bob Horner

Former Braves third baseman Bob Horner passed away this week. He was 68. 

The Braves drafted Horner out of Arizona State, and he immediately played for Braves, hitting a home run in his first game. He never played a day in the minor leagues, though Ted Turner once tried to send him down during a slump.

Horner is the most recent Brave to hit four home runs in a game. For years he played third base, but eventually moved to first base after suffering a series of injuries. In an effort to change his luck, Horner changed his number from 5 to 11.

Some thought Horner to be overweight, but it never affected his mobility.

One of the reasons I'm posting these photos: Horner wore some classic Braves uniforms - starting with the red pinstripes and the red BP jerseys from the late 70's, the 1980's home unis trimmed in red, white, and blue, and the powder blue road uniforms. 

Horner and Dale Murphy were rookies the same year. From then on the two were often mentioned together: Murphy and Horner, Horner and Murphy. 

Another thing about Horner - in his career he wore several different brands of cleats: Brooks, Puma, and others.

Gary Matthews, Horner, 1B Chris Chambliss, and Murphy.

Horner famously jumped to the Japanese league, and the fans there loved him. His nickname was The Red Devil. He slugged 31 homers in 93 games, threatening records set by Japan's home run king - causing quite the stir.

Horner finished his career with the Cardinals, but manager Whitey Herzog didn't get a long with him.

BOB HORNER [Wiki Bio] was the only player to hit four home runs in a game in the 1980s. On 06-Jul-1986, at home in Atlanta against the Expos, Horner went deep 4 times, three off Andy McGaffigan and once off Jeff Reardon. The most recent four-home-run game before his was Mike Schmidt’s in 1976.  The next one following Horner’s belonged to Mark Whiten in 1993. Horner was chosen #1 in the first round of the 1978 MLB June Amateur Draft. After a stellar college career, he bypassed the minor leagues entirely. His first professional game was in the majors. Horner was the first winner of the Golden Spikes Award. He debuted in the majors with the Braves on 16-Jun-1978, a mere 8 days since his final game at Arizona State University in the NCAA College World Series. In the 6th inning of his first game, Horner hit the first of his 218 career home runs off Bert Blyleven. Horner was voted the 1978 National League Rookie of the Year, edging out Padres shortstop Ozzie Smith. Horner was an All Star in 1982, and received MVP votes in 1979, 1980 & 1983. In 1982 Horner was an important part of getting the Braves into the postseason, winning their first NL West division championship since 1969.