Former Major League Baseball All-Star third baseman Bob Horner of Junction City, Kansas passed away at the age of 68 according to Baseball Reference on Tuesday. Horner played a decade in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1988. He was with the Atlanta Braves for nine seasons from 1978 to 1986, and an additional season with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1988.
Horner batted .277 with 218 home runs and 685 runs batted in. During 1020 games, 4213 plate appearances and 3777 at bats, he scored 560 runs and had 1047 hits, 169 doubles, eight triples, 14 stolen bases, 369 walks, 1886 total bases, one sacrifice bunt, 50 sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .340, and a slugging percentage of .499. The sacrifice bunt came in a 10-9 Braves win over the San Francisco Giants on June 30, 1978.
It was a terrific start to Horner’s MLB career. He was the 1978 National League Rookie of the Year. In his first MLB season, Horner batted .266 with 23 home runs and 63 runs batted in.
Horner was also an All-Star. In 1982 he was honoured by the National League while with the Braves. That season he batted .261 with 32 home runs and 97 runs batted in.
Horner’s most memorable game came on July 6, 1986 in an 11-8 Braves loss to the Montreal Expos. Horner became the 11th player in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in a game. In addition to playing in the Major Leagues, Horner played one season with the Yakult Swallows of the Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.
