Third Baseman - Bob Horner (1978-86) | |
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Joe Simpson, Bob Horner, and Michael Marcey - Braves 400 Club President |
Those who witnessed it will never forget it. Bob Horner, fresh off the Arizona State campus, hit a home run in the third at-bat of his very first professional game on June 16, 1978 off Pittsburgh's Bert Blyleven.
Who needs the minor leagues? Certainly not Horner, who never spent a day on anyone's farm. He hit 23 home runs in just 89 games as a rookie and became the only player ever to be named College Player of the year and a major league Rookie of the Year in the same season. The No.-1 draft pick in the nation in 1978, Horner had a stormy, injury-plagued career that nevertheless was quite fruitful. He made the NL All-Star team in 1982 when he helped the Braves win a division title. On July 6, 1986, Horner became only the 11th major leaguer to hit four home runs in a single game. He is the only Atlanta Brave to accomplish the feat and the only major leaguer to do it in a game his team lost. Horner finished a relatively brief Braves career with more home runs (215) and RBI (652) than any other player in the team's Atlanta history except Dale Murphy and Hank Aaron.
-- Text courtesy of Gary Caruso, ChopTalk magazine
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Chipper Jones | Ralph Garr | Dale Murphy | Hank Aaron | Andruw Jones | David Justice Phil Niekro | Gene Garber | Tom Glavine | Greg Maddux | John Smoltz | Bobby Cox |
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