Sam Horn

Samuel Lee Horn (born November 2, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player who spent parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) and was an anchor for New England Sports Network, the flagship station of Boston sports teams.

Early years

Horn grew up in San Diego and went to Samuel F.B. Morse High School with Mark McLemore, where they were coached by Bob Mendoza, a San Diego Hall of Champions Coaching Legend inductee.

Professional career

Horn was the 1982 first round draft pick (16th Pick) of the Boston Red Sox. In 1987, after batting .321, with 30 home runs, 82 runs batted in (RBI’s) and a league leading .649 slugging percentage for the Triple-A level Pawtucket Red Sox, Horn was called up to the Boston Red Sox mid-season. He continued to find success, hitting .278 with 14 home runs and 34 RBI’s in just 158 at-bats as a rookie with the major league Red Sox. During his eight-season major league career with Boston, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Texas, Horn hit .240, with a total of 62 home runs, including 23 home runs during the 1991 season as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. After leaving MLB, Horn played for the Taipei Gida in 1997 and 1998. He hit the first home run in the Taiwan Major League and held the record of being the highest paid player in the Taiwan professional baseball history (USD $216,000 for the 1997 season) until surpassed by Chin-Feng Chen in 2006.

On April 6, 1992, he scored the first ever run at Camden Yards.

Horn’s most notable professional baseball “achievement” occurred on July 17, 1991 when he became only the fifth player in MLB history to strike out six times in a game (there have been two more occasions since). This occurred during a 15-inning game with the Kansas City Royals, after which teammate and former Cy Young Award winner Mike Flanagan famously told assembled media- including baseball historian Tim Kurkjian- that, “from now on, six trikeoutswill be known as a ‘Horn’. Seven will be a ‘Horn-A-Plenty’. When you make history, you’ve got to put your name on it.” Baseball writer Paul Dickson has included the “Horn” in every version of The Dickson Baseball Dictionary since.

New England Sports Network

Horn worked for New England Sports Network, providing analysis on Red Sox post-game shows. Horn's catch-phrase was ''ka-pow'', which he exclaims whenever a Sox player hit a home run. The Red Sox fans' message board website called Sons of Sam Horn, which has also been used by Red Sox players (e.g. Curt Schilling) and management (e.g. John Henry), is named after Horn.

In July 2007, he declared his candidacy for President of Red Sox Nation. On August 15, 2007, a group calling themselves the "Fans of Sam Horn" took out an ad in USA Today, telling his fans to vote for him for President of Red Sox Nation.

''What is Your Pre-Game?''

In August 2017, Horn debuted his TV show ''What is Your Pre-Game'' on NBC Sports Boston. Guests included Jackie Bradley Jr, Sam Kennedy, Walter McCarty, and other sports figures and CEOs. Horn's main goal is to show the public how they train, cope with stress, and fuel their bodies for success.

References

External links

Sam Horn
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horn, Sam
1963 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan
African-American baseball players
Baltimore Orioles players
Baseball players from San Diego
Baseball players from Dallas
Boston Red Sox players
Calgary Cannons players
Charlotte Knights players
Cleveland Indians players
Columbus Clippers players
Elmira Pioneers players
Hagerstown Suns players
Major League Baseball first basemen
Nashua Pride players
New Britain Red Sox players
Oklahoma City 89ers players
Pawtucket Red Sox players
Rochester Red Wings players
Taipei Gida players
Tennessee Tomahawks players
Texas Rangers players
Winston-Salem Spirits players
21st-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century American sportsmen