Former Braves slugging 3rd baseman Bob Horner, who hit 4 homers in a game, dies at 68 - AP News

1 of 3 |  Atlanta Braves players Bob Horner, left, and Dale Murphy pose for a photo in Atlanta in 1978. (Louie Favorite/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File) 2 of 3 |  Atlanta Braves captain and third baseman Bob Horner, right, exults with teammate Chris Chambliss after they beat the Cincinnati Reds, April 23, 1982, at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Joe Sebo, File) 3 of 3 |  St. Louis Cardinals Tom Herr, center, lets out a yell as he advances safely to third ahead of the tag by Atlanta Braves’ Bob Horner (5) in the eighth inning of Game 1 of the National League playoffs at St. Louis, Oct. 8, 1982. Third base coach Chuck Hiller is at left. (AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy, File) 1 of 3 |  Atlanta Braves players Bob Horner, left, and Dale Murphy pose for a photo in Atlanta in 1978. (Louie Favorite/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File) Atlanta Braves players Bob Horner, left, and Dale Murphy pose for a photo in Atlanta in 1978. (Louie Favorite/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File) Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More 2 of 3 |  Atlanta Braves captain and third baseman Bob Horner, right, exults with teammate Chris Chambliss after they beat the Cincinnati Reds, April 23, 1982, at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Joe Sebo, File) Atlanta Braves captain and third baseman Bob Horner, right, exults with teammate Chris Chambliss after they beat the Cincinnati Reds, April 23, 1982, at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Joe Sebo, File) Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More 3 of 3 |  St. Louis Cardinals Tom Herr, center, lets out a yell as he advances safely to third ahead of the tag by Atlanta Braves’ Bob Horner (5) in the eighth inning of Game 1 of the National League playoffs at St. Louis, Oct. 8, 1982. Third base coach Chuck Hiller is at left. (AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy, File) St. Louis Cardinals Tom Herr, center, lets out a yell as he advances safely to third ahead of the tag by Atlanta Braves’ Bob Horner (5) in the eighth inning of Game 1 of the National League playoffs at St. Louis, Oct. 8, 1982. Third base coach Chuck Hiller is at left. (AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy, File) Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More By  CHARLES ODUM Updated : , ,   Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share (function () { const counter = document.getElementById("scrollToComments"); const HEADER_OFFSET = 120; function findCommentsModule() { return document.querySelector('.vf3-comments, #vf-conversations, '); } function maybeShowCounter() { if (findCommentsModule()) { counter.style.display = "inline-flex"; } else { counter.style.display = "none"; } } // Show only when Viafoura is present maybeShowCounter(); // Watch DOM for late loads const observer = new MutationObserver(maybeShowCounter); observer.observe(document.documentElement, { childList: true, subtree: true }); // Scroll action counter.addEventListener("click", function () { const el = findCommentsModule(); if (!el) return; const top = el.getBoundingClientRect().top + window.scrollY - HEADER_OFFSET; window.scrollTo({ top, behavior: "smooth" }); }); })(); .thin-line-button { display: inline-flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; border: 1px solid #ccc; height: 30px; padding: 0 10px; cursor: pointer; border-radius: 5px; background: none; text-align: center; font-size: 1.4rem; font-weight: 700; white-space: nowrap; flex-shrink: 0; color: inherit; transition: none; /* Remove animation effect */ } .thin-line-button { color: #000; background: white; } /* Remove hover effect */ .thin-line-button:hover { border: 1px solid #ccc; } .comment-icon { width: 20px; height: 20px; min-width: 20px; min-height: 20px; flex: 0 0 20px; object-fit: contain; display: inline-block; } .Page-actions-commentCounter .embed-caption { display: none; } .vf-comments-count.vf-is-logged-in { margin-left: 4px; } ATLANTA (AP) — Bob Horner, the power-hitting third baseman who was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 1978 and hit a home run in his debut with the Atlanta Braves after skipping the minor leagues, has died. He was 68. The Braves, who said Tuesday they were informed of Horner’s death in Texas by his wife, Chris, announced the news on their X account. The team did not report Horner’s cause of death. Horner hit 218 homers in his 10-year career, including nine seasons with the Braves. The total included a four-homer game in 1986. He joined two-time MVP Dale Murphy to form the heart of the Braves’ lineup through much of the 1980s. Following a standout career at Arizona State that earned him a place in the College Baseball Hall of Fame’s first class, Horner became the first Braves draft pick to skip the minor leagues and play his first professional game in the major leagues. In his debut, Horner hit a homer off future Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven of the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 16, 1978. Horner was selected as the NL Rookie of the Year after hitting .266 with 23 homers in 89 games. On July 6, 1986, against Montreal, Horner became the first Braves player to hit four homers in a game. It was the only four-homer game in the majors during the 1980s. Mets rookie Carson Benge ditches his mustache and makes big strides at the plate 3 MIN READ Ohtani sparks Dodgers with a leadoff homer, leads 7 hitless innings in 4-1 win 1 MIN READ Yordan Alvarez is on a heater with consecutive 2-homer nights to put the Houston slugger at 20 2 MIN READ Horner had a compact swing and never had more than 75 strikeouts in a season. He hit .277 for his career and had three seasons with more than 30 homers, including a career-high 35 in 1980. He was an All-Star in 1982 when he hit .261 with 32 homers and drove in 97 runs. Horner left the Braves after the 1986 season, signing to play one season in Japan before returning to the major leagues to play for St. Louis in 1988. He retired during spring training before the 1989 season. In their tribute to Horner, the Braves said the third baseman “built a career out of being first” while noting he was the first overall draft pick in 1978, the first Braves draftee to skip the minor leagues and the organization’s first player to hit four homers in a game. At Arizona State, Horner was the MVP of the 1977 College World Series and won the first Golden Spikes Award as the top player in college baseball in 1978 after setting the NCAA career record with 56 homers. The record now is held by Oklahoma State’s Pete Incaviglia, who hit 100 from 1983-85. In 2006, Horner was inducted into the inaugural class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame. CHARLES ODUM Odum has been covering Atlanta professional sports for The Associated Press for more than 20 years. Odum also covers Georgia and Georgia Tech as well as other major events in the state, including NASCAR. twitter mailto window.vfQ = window.vfQ || ; // Tags that always block comments on ANY story, regardless of section. Example const COMMENT_BLOCK_TAGS = ; // Section name we care about (as it appears in ). // We'll normalize to lowercase, so "World News" -> "world news". const WORLD_NEWS_SECTION = 'world news'; // Tags that block comments ONLY when the story is in the World News section. const WORLD_NEWS_EXCLUSION_TAGS = ; window.vfQ = window.vfQ || ; // Zephr mod handling + prepublish + login failure handling setTimeout(() => { const all = document.querySelectorAll('.Zephr.Zephr-mod'); // If there's more than one of this element, delete the one with ID if (all.length > 1) { const withId = document.getElementById('viafoura-zephr-mod'); if (withId) withId.remove(); return } // prepublish → Zephr auth / walls handling window.vfQ.push(() => { if (!window.vf || typeof window.vf.$prepublish !== 'function') return; window.vf.$prepublish((channel, event, ...args) => { if (channel === 'authentication' && event === 'required') { window.vf.$publish && window.vf.$publish('tray', 'close'); window.Zephr?.openModal?.(); // window.location.href = `/login?target=${window.location.pathname}` return false; } else if (channel === 'walls' && event === 'post-attempt') { if (window.zephrQueue && typeof window.zephrQueue.enqueue === 'function') { window.zephrQueue.enqueue(async (zephr) => { if ( !zephr?.accessDetails?.authenticated || !window.Zephr?.openModal ) { return; } window.Zephr.openModal(); }); } return { channel, event, args }; } else { return { channel, event, args }; } }); }); // login failure → show ban message + tooltip window.vfQ.push(() => { if (!window.vf || typeof window.vf.$subscribe !== 'function') return; window.vf.$subscribe('login', 'failure', (errorContext) => { if (!errorContext) return; const isBanned = errorContext.error_key === 'login_banned'; if (!isBanned) return; let reasonText = 'Your account has been permanently banned from posting.'; if (errorContext.isPermanent === 0) { const date = new Date(errorContext.endDate); const formatted = date.toLocaleString('en-US', { month: 'short', day: 'numeric', year: 'numeric', hour: 'numeric', minute: '2-digit', hour12: true, }); reasonText = 'Your account has been banned from posting until ' + formatted; } waitForEditorWrapper((wrapper) => { if (wrapper && !document.querySelector('.vf-ban-container')) { const container = document.createElement('div'); container.className = 'vf-ban-container'; // Message const message = document.createElement('div'); message.className = 'vf-ban-message'; message.innerHTML = '❗' + '' + reasonText + ''; // Tooltip trigger if (errorContext.reason) { const tooltip = document.createElement('span'); tooltip.className = 'vf-ban-tooltip'; tooltip.textContent = ' — WHY WAS I BANNED?'; const tooltipContent = document.createElement('div'); tooltipContent.className = 'vf-ban-tooltip-content'; tooltipContent.textContent = errorContext.reason; tooltip.appendChild(tooltipContent); message.appendChild(tooltip); } container.appendChild(message); wrapper.parentNode.insertBefore(container, wrapper.nextSibling); } }); }); }); }, 50); function waitForEditorWrapper(callback, maxTries = 50, interval = 100) { let tries = 0; const iv = setInterval(() => { const wrapper = document.querySelector('.vf-new-content__content-editor-wrapper'); if (wrapper) { clearInterval(iv); callback(wrapper); } else if (++tries >= maxTries) { clearInterval(iv); } }, interval); } function pageHasBlockedTag(tagsToBlock = COMMENT_BLOCK_TAGS) { const metas = Array.from( document.querySelectorAll(', 'meta' ].join(',')) ); const pageTags = metas .map(m => (m.getAttribute('content') || '')) .flatMap(c => c.split(',')) .map(s => s.trim().toLowerCase()) .filter(Boolean); const blockSet = new Set( (tagsToBlock || ).map(t => String(t).trim().toLowerCase()).filter(Boolean) ); return pageTags.some(t => blockSet.has(t)); } function getPageSection() { // Look for // or just in case. const meta = document.querySelector( 'meta, meta' ); if (!meta) return ''; return (meta.getAttribute('content') || '').trim().toLowerCase(); } function replaceBellIconInNav(container) { if (!container) return; const bellButtons = container.querySelectorAll( '.comment-nav-right .vf-tray-trigger.comment-nav-right__icon, .vf-tray-trigger' ); bellButtons.forEach((btn) => { if (btn.dataset.iconSwapped === '1') return; const bellSvg = btn.querySelector('.vf-icon_bell_icon'); if (bellSvg) bellSvg.remove(); const img = document.createElement('img'); img.src = 'https://assets.apnews.com/75/e2/83fe757647f790e4a0bf06370f10/comment-2.png'; img.alt = 'Comments'; img.style.height = '24px'; img.style.width = '24px'; img.style.verticalAlign = 'middle'; img.setAttribute('data-ap-bell', '1'); // precise selector for dark-mode tweak btn.appendChild(img); btn.dataset.iconSwapped = '1'; }); } function injectNoticeInContainer(container) { if (!container) return false; if (container.querySelector('.vf-guidelines-notice')) return true; const header = container.querySelector('.vf-comment-header'); if (!header) return false; const notice = document.createElement('div'); notice.className = 'vf-guidelines-notice'; notice.innerHTML = 'All comments are subject to our ' + 'Community Guidelines.' + 'Please note that comments are not moderated immediately — every post is reviewed before appearing publicly to ensure it meets our community guidelines. This means there may be a delay before your comment is visible.'; header.parentNode.insertBefore(notice, header.nextSibling); return true; } function hideFloatingBellButton() { document.querySelectorAll('.vf-tray-trigger--floating').forEach((btn) => { btn.style.display = 'none'; }); } function moveTrendingAboveCommentsFooter() { const trendingHost = document.getElementById('ap-trending-host'); if (!trendingHost || trendingHost.dataset.moved === '1') return; const footer = document.querySelector('#vf-conversations > div > section > div > footer'); if (footer && footer.parentNode) { footer.parentNode.insertBefore(trendingHost, footer); trendingHost.dataset.moved = '1'; } } function onCommentingLoaded() { const container = document.getElementById('ap-comments'); if (!container) return; injectNoticeInContainer(container); replaceBellIconInNav(container); moveTrendingAboveCommentsFooter(); } function wireViafoura() { if (window.vf && typeof window.vf.$subscribe === 'function') { window.vf.$subscribe('commenting', 'loaded', onCommentingLoaded); } } /* ----------------- DARK THEME HANDLING ----------------- */ function isDarkColor(rgb) { if (!rgb) return false; const m = rgb.match(/rgba?\((\d+),\s*(\d+),\s*(\d+)/i); if (!m) return false; const r = +m, g = +m, b = +m; const lum = (0.2126*r + 0.7152*g + 0.0722*b) / 255; return lum < 0.5; } function shouldUseDarkTheme() { if (document.querySelector('')) return true; const carrier = document.querySelector('') || document.body || document.documentElement; const bg = carrier ? getComputedStyle(carrier).backgroundColor : ''; return isDarkColor(bg); } function getEffectiveDarkBg() { const carrier = document.querySelector('') || document.body || document.documentElement; const bg = carrier ? getComputedStyle(carrier).backgroundColor : ''; return bg && bg !== 'rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)' && bg !== 'transparent' ? bg : '#0b0b0b'; } // NEW: normalize dropdown/menu background in dark mode (solid dark, non-transparent) function fixDarkModeDropdowns() { if (!shouldUseDarkTheme()) return; const bg = getEffectiveDarkBg(); const text = 'rgba(255,255,255,0.85)'; const dropdowns = document.querySelectorAll( ',,.vf-dropdown__menu,.vf-select__menu' ); dropdowns.forEach((el) => { const cs = getComputedStyle(el); const bgColor = cs.backgroundColor; // Only fix ones that are effectively transparent / not already dark if ( bgColor === 'rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)' || bgColor === 'transparent' ) { el.style.setProperty('--default-color', bg); el.style.setProperty('--background-color', bg); el.style.setProperty('--light-text-on-default-color', text); el.style.setProperty('--dark-text-on-default-color', '#ffffff'); el.style.setProperty('--light-text-on-background-color', text); el.style.setProperty('--dark-text-on-background-color', '#ffffff'); el.style.backgroundColor = bg; el.style.color = text; } }); } function applyDarkThemeIfNeeded() { const container = document.getElementById('ap-comments'); if (!container) return; const useDark = shouldUseDarkTheme(); const bg = useDark ? getEffectiveDarkBg() : null; container.classList.toggle('ap-comments--dark', useDark); if (useDark) { container.style.setProperty('--apc-bg', bg); container.style.setProperty('--apc-text', '#e8e8e8'); container.style.setProperty('--apc-link', '#9ecbff'); container.setAttribute('data-theme', 'dark'); container.style.setProperty('background', 'var(--apc-bg)', 'important'); // Normalize Viafoura / AP-style variables INSIDE the comments container container.style.setProperty('--default-color', bg); container.style.setProperty('--background-color', bg); container.style.setProperty('--light-text-on-default-color', 'rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8)'); container.style.setProperty('--dark-text-on-default-color', '#ffffff'); container.style.setProperty('--light-text-on-background-color', 'rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8)'); container.style.setProperty('--dark-text-on-background-color', '#ffffff'); } else { container.removeAttribute('data-theme'); container.style.removeProperty('background'); .forEach(v => container.style.removeProperty(v)); } const elConv = document.getElementById('vf-conv'); const elTrend = document.getElementById('vf-trending'); const realConv = document.querySelector('#vf-conversations'); const realTrend = document.querySelector('#vf-trending-articles'); .forEach(el => { if (!el) return; if (useDark) { el.setAttribute('data-vf-theme', 'dark'); el.setAttribute('vf-theme', 'dark'); el.setAttribute('theme', 'dark'); el.style.removeProperty('background'); el.style.color = 'var(--apc-text)'; } else { .forEach(a => el.removeAttribute(a)); el.style.removeProperty('background'); el.style.removeProperty('color'); } }); .forEach((root) => { if (!root) return; if (useDark) { root.classList.add('ap-vf-dark'); root.setAttribute('data-theme', 'dark'); } else { root.classList.remove('ap-vf-dark'); root.removeAttribute('data-theme'); } }); // fix dropdowns / sort menus any time theme is recalculated if (useDark) { fixDarkModeDropdowns(); } } const vfObserver = new MutationObserver(() => { applyDarkThemeIfNeeded(); }); (function bootComments() { const container = document.getElementById('ap-comments'); if (!container) return; // Initial theme & dropdown fix applyDarkThemeIfNeeded(); // --------- NEW: Global block tags (e.g. no_comment) ---------- // If the page has ANY of the COMMENT_BLOCK_TAGS, hide comments on all stories. if (pageHasBlockedTag(COMMENT_BLOCK_TAGS)) { container.innerHTML = ''; container.classList.remove('viafoura'); container.id = 'comments-hidden'; hideFloatingBellButton(); return; } // --------- NEW: Section-specific logic (World News) ---------- const section = getPageSection(); // Only apply this rule if the story is in World News. if (section === WORLD_NEWS_SECTION) { // If a World News story has any tag in WORLD_NEWS_EXCLUSION_TAGS (e.g. Israel), // hide the embed. Other sections with those tags are still allowed. if (pageHasBlockedTag(WORLD_NEWS_EXCLUSION_TAGS)) { container.innerHTML = ''; container.classList.remove('viafoura'); container.id = 'comments-hidden'; hideFloatingBellButton(); return; } } // --------- Existing Viafoura boot logic ---------- if (!window.vf && !document.querySelector('script')) { const s = document.createElement('script'); s.async = true; s.src = '//cdn.viafoura.net/entry/index.js'; document.head.appendChild(s); } if (document.readyState === 'complete' || document.readyState === 'interactive') { wireViafoura(); } else { document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', wireViafoura); } (function startCappedRetry() { let tries = 0; const maxTries = 120; const iv = setInterval(() => { injectNoticeInContainer(container); replaceBellIconInNav(container); hideFloatingBellButton(); moveTrendingAboveCommentsFooter(); applyDarkThemeIfNeeded(); if (++tries >= maxTries) clearInterval(iv); }, 100); })(); try { vfObserver.observe(container, { childList: true, subtree: true }); } catch (e) {} })(); .vf-guidelines-notice { font-family: var(--primary-font, 'AP', sans-serif); font-size: 1.0em; color: #666; margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding-left: 4px; opacity: 0.85; line-height: 1.4; } .vf-guidelines-notice a { text-decoration: underline; font-weight: 500; } #vf-trending-articles > div > div > h2 { font-size: 14px !important; line-height: 1.2; text-transform: uppercase; } #vf-trending-articles p.vf-trending-article__comment-count { font-size: 16px !important; line-height: 1.1; } #comments-hidden { display: none; } /* ---------- Dark theme for AP comments ---------- */ #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark { --apc-bg: #0b0b0b; --apc-text: #e8e8e8; --apc-muted: #a7a7a7; --apc-border: #2a2a2a; --apc-link: #9ecbff; background: var(--apc-bg) !important; color: var(--apc-text); color-scheme: dark; } /* DO NOT touch every descendant’s colors anymore – that was killing badges/icons */ #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark a { color: var(--apc-link); } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark a:hover, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark a:focus { text-decoration: underline; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark hr, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-divider, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-comment + .vf-comment, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-card { border-color: var(--apc-border) !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-guidelines-notice { color: var(--apc-muted); } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles > div > div > h2, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark p.vf-trending-article__comment-count { color: var(--apc-text) !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-conversations.ap-vf-dark, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles.ap-vf-dark { background: transparent !important; color: var(--apc-text) !important; color-scheme: dark; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-conversations, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles { background-color: var(--apc-bg) !important; } /* Removed “*:not(input)” background/color override so badges keep their own colors */ #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-conversations section, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-conversations article, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-conversations header, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-conversations footer, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-conversations .vf-card, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles section, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles article, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles header, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles footer, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles .vf-card { background-color: transparent !important; border-color: var(--apc-border) !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-content-editor-form, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-editor-area { background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.08) !important; border: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.24) !important; border-radius: 6px !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-content-editor-input { color: var(--apc-text) !important; caret-color: var(--apc-text) !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-content-editor-input::placeholder { color: #cfcfcf !important; opacity: 1 !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-content-editor-input:focus, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-editor-area:focus-within { outline: none !important; border-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.36) !important; box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px rgba(255,255,255,0.12) !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-dropdown-button, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-dropdown-button__text { background-color: transparent !important; color: var(--apc-text) !important; border-color: var(--apc-border) !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-dropdown-button:hover, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-dropdown-button:focus { background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.06) !important; } /* Only tweak the swapped bell icon in dark mode; leave other badges alone */ #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-tray-trigger img { filter: invert(1) hue-rotate(180deg) brightness(1.1); opacity: 1; mix-blend-mode: normal; } /* Ban message styles */ .vf-ban-container { margin: 10px 0 15px; padding: 10px 12px; border-radius: 4px; background-color: #fff3cd; border: 1px solid #ffeeba; } .vf-ban-message { font-family: var(--primary-font, 'AP', sans-serif); font-size: 0.95em; color: #856404; display: flex; align-items: center; flex-wrap: wrap; } .vf-ban-icon { margin-right: 8px; } .vf-ban-tooltip { margin-left: 4px; font-weight: 600; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer; position: relative; } .vf-ban-tooltip-content { display: none; position: absolute; z-index: 9999; top: 120%; left: 0; width: 260px; padding: 8px 10px; background: #fff; border: 1px solid #ccc; border-radius: 4px; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; color: #333; box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.1); } .vf-ban-tooltip:hover .vf-ban-tooltip-content { display: block; }