Baseball season is closely approaching so I thought I'd
do a look back at my all-time favorite player, 3B/1B Bob Horner. Like
many people I tend to latch on to a guy for no real good reason but I root for
them in thick and thin. Part of being a big Horner fan I’m sure coincided
with me starting to watch baseball about the time he entered the sport.
Horner played 10 seasons in the majors. Nine were with Atlanta from
1978 through 1986 before playing one final season with St. Louis in 1988.
1987 he played in Japan. After being the #1 pick in the 1978 draft,
Horner went straight from the college campus to the majors. He justified
his status as a #1 pick by being chosen as Rookie of the Year for 1978.
Horner was as a third baseman by trade but by 1985 he was playing first base
full time. He was not a good defensive third baseman so the move to first
was a good one for him. Horner was hindered by injuries the majority of
his career with lingering wrist problems being the major culprit. Had
Horner been able to average more than 102 games per season his career
definitely could have been viewed differently. As is, he was a good power
hitter who under achieved.
Again he started out well his rookie year with 23
homeruns in just 89 games. 1979 and 1980 saw him playing in 121 and 124
games respectively. He hit 33 homeruns in 1979 and a career high 35
in 1980. His power numbers were excellent while he wasn't a huge
strikeout guy, something you definitely like to see. Unfortunately he
couldn't stay on the field long enough to max out his potential. 1979 may
have been his best year with career highs set in average (.314), slugging
(.552), and runs batted in (98). 1981 was a strike shortened year and
Horner was only able to stay healthy for 79 of the 107 games Atlanta
played. But again he put up good stats when he was able to play. He
again reached 30 homeruns in 1982 putting 32 over the fence earning all-star
honors for the only time in his career. 1982 also saw him reach the playoffs
for the only time though he struggled mightily batting only .091. That
was 1 single in 11 at bats against the eventual World Champion St. Louis
Cardinals, a horrible effort.
The next year was a great year at the plate though it was
again shortened by injury. His .383 on base average far outpaced any
other year of his career but because he only played in 104 games he only racked
up 20 homeruns and 68 RBI’s. The Atlanta Braves of 1984 won
only 80 games and the team went into a decline that wouldn’t end until
1991. Horner was only around for 32 games due to injury only putting up 3
homeruns. This was also the year of the infamous Padres – Bravesbrawl. Horner played a part in that he was injured at the time and in
press box. He went to the locker room and changed into uniform
before going to the dugout. I watched this game live as a teenager
and loved it. Can’t say it was right but I enjoyed the heck out of
it. In 1985 he rebounded with 27 homeruns and 89 RBI’s but batted a
career low .256. Still a good year but he was only on the field for 130
games. Horner played a career high 141 games in 1986 again registering 27
homeruns and drove in ’86. He even hit four homeruns in a game that year
tying the major league record.
You couldn’t ask for much more than this. Two good
years heading into free agency. But this is where it gets weird.
Bob Horner was only 28 years old and had already hit 215 homeruns in his
th in
the league with 31 homeruns, 4th in batting (.327), 2nd
in OBP (.423), and 1st in slugging (.683). They loved
him. He was in his prime and he feasted on Japanese pitching before they
decided to pitch around him instead of challenging him. All that did was
frustrate Horner who left after one year though he had probably made the
biggest impact by any American on Japanese baseball. He left $3M on the
table and returned to Major League Baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals for
$950,000. I still hadn’t forgiven the Cards for beating the Braves in the
’82 playoffs so I really wasn’t on board with this. To me he should have
been a Brave for life. Still you root for your guy, right? His
stint with St. Louis was not a great one. St. Louis needed a replacement
for Jack Clark who left the cards via free agency but Horner struggled.
He battled injuries, could no longer generate power and played his last game on
June 18 of that season.
Bob Horner was a good player who was riddled by injuries
that hampered his career. Combined with his decision to go to Japan and
his subsequent decision to leave Japan he will never be much more than a
distant memory of Braves fans. If healthy and playing to age 35 Horner
was a guy who could have easily had 400+ homeruns. I also think that if
he had had a few seasons of 155+ games he might have put up a monster year in
there somewhere. Maybe 45 homeruns and 110 runs batted in. It is always
fun to play the “What if?” game but when wondering what injuries robbed a
player of it is tough. You also have to wonder what it would have been
like had he stayed in Japan. If he had continued to put up numbers like
he did in 1987 he would have been a cult hero there. Again, “What
if?”. No matter. He’ll always be that guy for me when it comes to
baseball. There are many others who I’ve rooted for but Horner is my
favorite.
1978
.266/.313/.539 23 HR 63 RBI 89
Games Played
1979 .314/.346/.552
33 HR 98 RBI 121 Games Played
1980
.268/.307/.529 35 HR 89
RBI 124 Games Played
1981
.277/.345/.460 15 HR 42 RBI 79
Games Played
1982
.261/.350/.501 32 HR 97 RBI 140 Games
Played
1983 .303/.383/.528
20 HR 68 RBI 104 Games Played
1984
.274/.349/.425 3 HR 19
RBI 32 Games Played
1985
.256/.333/.499 27 HR 89 RBI 130
Games Played
1986
.273/.336/.472 27 HR 87 RBI 141
Games Played
1988
.257/.348/.354 3 HR 33
RBI 60 Games Played
1987
.327/.423/.683 31 HR 73 RBI 93
Games Played
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