Kent Franklin Mercker (born February 1, 1968) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played for nine teams over his 17-year career.

Career

Mercker was born in

Brownsburg, Indiana Brownsburg is a town in Hendricks County, Indiana, United States. The population was recorded to be 21,285 residents at the 2010 Census, an increase from the 14,520 residents in 2000. the estimated population was recorded to be 27,001 residents. ...

and lived in several different cities, including four years in Export, Pennsylvania, before his family settled in

Dublin, Ohio Dublin is a city in Franklin, Delaware and Union counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 49,328 in the 2020 census with a census estimate of 49,037 in 2019. Dublin is a suburb of Columbus. The city of Dublin hosts the yearly ...

in 1980. He was taken in the first round (5th pick overall) of the 1986 Major League Baseball Draft by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

. He made his major league debut with the Braves on September 22, , and appeared in two games that season. During his years with the Braves, Mercker split time between the bullpen and the starting rotation. After serving as a reliever for the vast part of his first five seasons, he joined the Braves' rotation full-time for the and seasons. After the 1995 season, the Braves traded Mercker to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. Mercker then became a journeyman, spending time with Baltimore (),

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

(1996), Cincinnati (, , -, 2008),

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

(-),

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

(1999), Anaheim (),

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

(), Atlanta (2003), and the Chicago Cubs (). He signed with Cincinnati for the third time in his career on December 20, 2004. Mercker received the

Tony Conigliaro Award The Tony Conigliaro Award is a national recognition instituted in 1990 by the Boston Red Sox to honor the memory of Tony Conigliaro. It is given annually to a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who best "overcomes an obstacle and adversity throu ...

in 2000 following his recovery from a cerebral hemorrhage. Mercker has taken part in two no-hit games during his career, both with the Braves. The first, on September 11, , against the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Fulton County Stadium Fulton may refer to: People * Robert Fulton (1765–1815), American engineer and inventor who developed the first commercially successful steam-powered ship * Fulton (surname) Given name * Fulton Allem (born 1957), South African golfer * Fult ...

, was a combined effort between Mercker, the starter, who pitched six innings;

Mark Wohlers Mark Edward Wohlers (born January 23, 1970) is a former professional baseball pitcher. A right-hander, he played all or parts of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball, exclusively as a relief pitcher. He is best known for his years with the Atlanta ...

, who pitched the seventh and eighth innings; and

Alejandro Peña Alejandro Peña Vásquez (born June 25, 1959) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Listed at 6' 1" , 200 lb. , he batted and threw right-handed. Peña made his Major League debut on August 13, 1981 (in time to be included on t ...

, who pitched the ninth. The Braves defeated the Padres 1-0. The 13th no-hitter in Braves franchise history, attendance was 20,477 at Fulton-County Stadium. The second no-hitter was a solo effort by Mercker, as he no-hit the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

on April 8, 1994, at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...

in a 6-0 victory. To date, this no-hitter is the last to be pitched by a Brave. On February 8, , Mercker signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati with an invitation to spring training. He pitched in 15 games for the Reds that season. He currently works as a broadcaster for the Reds. Mercker played in the 2022 Minto U.S. Open Pickleball Championships.

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Mercker, Kent 1968 births Living people Anaheim Angels players Atlanta Braves players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Indiana Boston Red Sox players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds announcers Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Rockies players St. Louis Cardinals players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball pitchers Gulf Coast Braves players Durham Bulls players Greenville Braves players Richmond Braves players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Lake Elsinore Storm players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Dayton Dragons players Louisville Bats players Pickleball players People from Brownsburg, Indiana

Career

See also

References

External links