The Atlanta Braves announced on May 26 that Bob Horner has died at 68, closing the book on a power hitter whose career was defined by firsts. Horner was the first overall pick in the 1978 draft and the first Braves draftee to skip the minor leagues and go straight to the majors.
He won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1978 and was an NL All-Star in 1982, then became the first Atlanta player to hit four home runs in a game when he did it against the Montreal Expos in 1986. The Braves said Horner “built a career out of being first.”
Horner spent nine seasons in Atlanta from 1978 to 1986, a run that made him one of the club’s defining sluggers of that era. He and Dale Murphy formed one of the most feared power duos in the game for nearly a decade, according to the team’s tribute.
His numbers were sturdy rather than flashy by the standards of the era, but they held up: 218 home runs, 685 RBIs and a.277 batting average in 1,020 career games. Horner finished his major league career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1988 after spending the 1987 season in Japan with the Yakult Swallows, where he hit 31 home runs, fifth in Nippon Professional Baseball.
The Braves extended condolences to his wife, Chris, his sons Tyler and Trent, and to his friends and fans. What remains most vivid about Horner is not just the power, but how often he changed what the Braves could ask from a player before he ever reached Atlanta.
