James Robert Horner (born August 6, 1957) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

who played ten seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB), primarily with 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. After a record-setting NCAA College athletic career with the

Arizona State Sun Devils baseball The Arizona State Sun Devils baseball program at the Arizona State University (ASU) is part of the Big 12 Conference. Since it became a member of the Pac-12, it had the highest winning percentage, at .681, of all schools that participate in Divi ...

team, Horner bypassed the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

and moved directly to the major leagues where together with

Dale Murphy Dale Bryan Murphy (born March 12, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player. During an 18-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , he played as an outfielder, catcher, and first baseman for the Atlanta Braves, Philade ...

, he formed a power-hitting tandem for the Atlanta Braves teams of the early 1980s. Known for his powerful hitting, Horner averaged 35 home runs and 109 runs batted per his 162-game average and became the 11th player in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in one game on July 6, . He was named the 1978

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(NL) Rookie of the Year and was a member of the 1982 National League All-Star team. Horner became a victim of the

Major League Baseball collusion Major League Baseball collusion refers to owners working together to avoid competitive bidding for player services or players jointly negotiating with team owners. Collusion in baseball is formally defined in the Major League Baseball Collective ...

scandal of 1986–87 after the courts found that owners had illegally shared information during free agency negotiations seeking to deflate player salaries. He was among hundreds of players and former players who were awarded millions of dollars in lost salary. He played one season in the

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams in Tokyo, the other being the Yomiuri G ...

, before returning to play one final season in MLB with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in 1988. A string of injuries prematurely ended Horner's baseball career after just 11 seasons. He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame as a member of its inaugural class on July 4, 2006.

Amateur career

Horner was born in

Junction City, Kansas Junction City is a city in and the county seat of Geary County, Kansas, Geary County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 22,932. Fort Riley, a major United States Army, U.S. ...

, but grew up in

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located about nine miles northwest of the state capital Phoenix, Glendale is known for State Farm Stadium, which is the home of the Arizona Cardinals football team. The city al ...

. He attended Apollo High School, where he set school records. His college career at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

culminated with being named the first winner of the

Golden Spikes Award The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...

. With his nine home runs in 1976 he is tied with

Ike Davis Isaac Benjamin Davis (born March 22, 1987) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. From 2010 through 2016, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, and New York Ya ...

(2006) for third all-time by a Sun Devil freshman, two behind

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...

(1983). A

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

for TSN's College All-America team in 1977 and 1978, Horner set a then-NCAA record of 58 career

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s for Arizona State, set a 25-homer single-season record, and was selected the

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of 1977

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...

Professional career

Horner was drafted by Atlanta with the first overall pick in the 1978 amateur draft, and he made his Major League Baseball debut the same year. He is one of only a handful of players to go directly from college to the starting lineup in the majors without spending a day in the minor leagues. In his first game, he belted a home run off future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

pitcher

Bert Blyleven Rik Aalbert Blyleven (born Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is a Dutch-American former professional baseball pitcher and color commentator. He played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1992, primarily with the Minnesota Twins, and f ...

of the

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

. In 89 games, Horner batted .266 with 23 home runs and 63

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

in 323 at-bats, with an

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

of .313 and a

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

of .539. His 23 home runs led all National League third basemen in 1978. He won the

Rookie of the Year honor over

Ozzie Smith Osborne Earl Smith (born December 26, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player. Nicknamed "The Wizard of Oz", Smith played shortstop for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball, winning the National ...

. In 1979, Horner batted .314 with 33 homers and 98 RBIs. In 1980, Horner batted .268, with 35 home runs and 89 RBIs despite being sidelined for a total of 79 games in both seasons after recurring shoulder and leg injuries. In the strike-shortened 1981 season, he hit .277 with 15 home runs and 42 RBIs in 79 games. Horner rejuvenated in 1982, finishing with 32 home runs, 97 RBIs, and an OBP of .350, while slugging .501. In August 1983, Horner was hitting .303 with 20 homers and a career-high OBP of .383 when he fractured his right wrist while sliding, missing the last 43 games of the season. In May 1984, Horner broke his left wrist while diving after a ball and he was sidelined for the rest of the season. In 1985, Horner played 130 games and finished with a .267 batting average, 27 home runs, and 89 RBIs. In 1986, Horner set personal highlights. On July 6, 1986, in a game against the Expos, he became the eleventh player in

history to hit four home runs in a single game and only the second one to do so in a game that his team lost (the first one being

Ed Delahanty Edward James Delahanty (October 30, 1867 – July 2, 1903), nicknamed "Big Ed", was an American professional baseball player, who spent his Major League Baseball (MLB) playing career with the Philadelphia Quakers (NL), Philadelphia Quakers, Clev ...

). Later in the season, after hitting a record 210 career home runs without a grand slam, Horner finally belted a homer with the bases loaded to give the Braves a 4–2 victory over the

. Horner's record for homers without a grand slam stood until 1998 when

Sammy Sosa Samuel Peralta Sosa (; born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and ...

surpassed the mark by hitting his first grand slam on the 248th home run of his career. Horner became a free agent in 1987, after his first season of more than 500 at-bats. Although Horner was still near his peak, the Major League clubs were then

colluding Collusion is a deceitful agreement or secret cooperation between two or more parties to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading or defrauding others of their legal right. Collusion is not always considered illegal. It can be used to att ...

to drive down salaries, so no offers were made to Horner, whose asking price was $2 million.Whiting, Robert. ''You Gotta Have Wa'' (Vintage Departures, 1989), p. 6. (In 2004, Horner received more than $7 million from the successful lawsuit the players filed against the owners and their illegal collusion.) After failing to reach an agreement with an MLB club, Horner signed a $2 million, one-year contract with the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

. He was given number 50 by the organization because that was the number of home runs they expected him to hit. He ended up hitting 31 homers and had 73 RBIs for the team. Despite Yakult offering Horner a reported $10 million for a new three-year contract, Horner returned to the majors in 1988 with the

. After 60 games, however, he injured his left shoulder. After being invited to spring training by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

in 1989, Horner announced his retirement. In his ten-year Major League career, Horner batted .277 with 218 home runs, 685 RBIs, 560 runs, 1,047

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, 169 doubles, 8

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, 14

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s, a .340

, and a .499

slugging average In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, a ...

in 1,020 games. Defensively, in 684 games at third base, he compiled a .946

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

, and in 330 games at first base, he posted a .994 fielding percentage. Overall, his career fielding percentage was .977.

Legacy

On July 4, 2006, Horner was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame as a member of its inaugural class.Associated Press
"Winfield, Dedeaux inducted to new College Baseball Hall of Fame,"
''USA Today'' (July 4, 2006).

References

External links

*Bob Horner a
Baseball AlmanacWhat Ever Happened to Bob Horner?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horner, Bob 1957 births Living people People from Junction City, Kansas Baseball players from Glendale, Arizona Golden Spikes Award winners Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners National League All-Stars Atlanta Braves players St. Louis Cardinals players Major League Baseball first basemen American expatriate baseball players in Japan Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Yakult Swallows players Baseball players from Kansas College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award winners National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees All-American college baseball players 20th-century American sportsmen

Amateur career

Professional career

Legacy

See also

References

External links