Former All-Star and Rookie of the Year Bob Horner has passed away at 68. The Braves announced the news on Tuesday afternoon while sending their condolences to his family and friends.
Horner was born in Kansas but grew up in Arizona. A 15th-round pick by the A’s out of high school, he instead elected to attend Arizona State University. The righty-hitting Horner had a legendary college career, clubbing 56 home runs over three seasons with the Sun Devils.
It was then an all-time NCAA record and remains the most for any ASU hitter to this day. Horner led them to a national title in 1977 and a runner-up finish in his junior season. He was one of five players — alongside Will Clark, Robin Ventura, Dave Winfield and Brooks Kieschnick — enshrined in the inaugural College Baseball Hall of Fame class in 2006.
The Braves held the first pick in the 1978 draft, which was held in the middle of June. They selected Horner and immediately added him to the MLB roster. That bold decision paid off, as he slugged 23 homers (including one off Bert Blyleven in his big league debut) and drove in 63 runs in 89 games. He narrowly topped future Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith for the NL Rookie of the Year award.
Horner opened the following season as Atlanta’s third baseman, his first of seven straight years in that role. He remained an impact power threat, topping 30 homers in each of his first two full MLB campaigns. Horner earned a ninth-place finish in MVP balloting behind a career-high 35 longballs in 1980. He made the ’82 All-Star Game during his third 30-plus homer season, also helping the Braves to an NL West title.
Over parts of nine seasons in Atlanta, Horner hit .278/.339/.508 with 215 home runs. He moved to first base for the ’86 campaign, in which he hit .273 with 27 homers. That included one of the best single-game performances in history. Horner had a four-homer game against Montreal on July 6, 1986. It’s one of 21 such recognized games in big league history and remains the only four-homer performance by a Brave. Unfortunately, it was also one of three occasions in which his team lost the game, as the Expos prevailed 11-8.
Horner reached free agency after the 1986 season. MLB owners at the time were colluding to drive down player salaries. (Various arbitrators would rule in the Players Association’s favor on that matter, leading to an eventual $280MM settlement for violations of the collective bargaining agreement.) Horner rejected what he considered a lowball offer from the Braves going into ’87.
When no other MLB teams made a stronger offer, he signed a $2MM contract with the Yakult Swallows in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Horner hit .327 with 31 homers in 93 games. He’d return to the Majors the following season on a one-year deal with the Cardinals. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, he rejected a $3MM offer from Yakult to sign with St. Louis for just $950K.
Horner had a career-worst season at age 30 in 1988. He signed with the Orioles but announced his retirement in Spring Training ’89, citing a left shoulder injury that didn’t fully recover after surgery. He spent his post-playing days in the Dallas area with family. Horner finished his MLB career with a .277/.340/.499 slash line. He popped 218 homers, topped 1000 hits, and drove in 685 runs.
He’s one of the best players in college baseball history and had one star-level season in Japan amidst a unique, fascinating career. Horner’s passing sadly comes not long after the baseball world lost two other key figures from Braves history, Ted Turner and Bobby Cox. MLB Trade Rumors joins others around the game in sending our condolences to his family, friends, former teammates and loved ones.
