1968
Born February 1, 1968
Brownsburg, IN, USA
Kent Mercker Marquee
b. February 1, 1968 · Atlanta Braves 1989–1995, 2003, Baltimore Orioles 1996, Cleveland Indians 1996, Cincinnati Reds 1997, 2003, 2005–2006, 2008, St. Louis Cardinals 1998–1999, Boston Red Sox 1999, Anaheim Angels 2000, Colorado Rockies 2002, Chicago Cubs 2004
On April 8, 1994, in his second start of the season, he threw Kent Mercker's No-Hitter against the Dodgers, walking four and striking out ten. He had already pitched the first six innings of a combined no-hitter for Atlanta in September 1991, with Alejandro Peña finishing it.
Eighteen seasons gave him 74 wins against 67, a 4.16 earned run average, 1,325 innings, 25 saves and 692 appearances, of which 150 were starts. He was a reliever for Atlanta through the 1991 and 1992 pennants, a starter for the 1995 club that won the World Series, and a reliever again for most of the decade after.
He pitched for nine clubs and came back in 2008 at forty after a brain hemorrhage in the Cincinnati dugout in 2007. He is not on a Hall of Fame ballot.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Pitcher of the Month | 1 | 1997 |
| Player of the Week | 1 | 1994 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | ATL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1990 | ATL | 36 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 1991 | ATL | 50 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | .100 |
| 1992 | ATL | 53 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 |
| 1993 | ATL | 43 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | .000 |
| 1994 | ATL | 20 | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 0 | .054 |
| 1995 | ATL | 29 | 48 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 0 | .104 |
| 1996 | BAL/CLE | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1997 | CIN | 31 | 45 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 23 | 0 | .156 |
| 1998 | STL | 32 | 54 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 25 | 0 | .148 |
| 1999 | BOS/STL | 31 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 0 | .179 |
| 2000 | ANA | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | COL | 58 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2003 | ATL/CIN | 67 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2004 | CHC | 71 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2005 | CIN | 78 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | CIN | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | CIN | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 698 | 248 | 12 | 28 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 11 | 115 | 0 | .113 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | ATL | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4.1 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 12.46 |
| 1990 | ATL | 4 | 7 | 36 | 0 | 7 | 48.1 | 43 | 17 | 24 | 39 | 3.17 |
| 1991 | ATL | 5 | 3 | 50 | 4 | 6 | 73.1 | 56 | 21 | 35 | 62 | 2.58 |
| 1992 | ATL | 3 | 2 | 53 | 0 | 6 | 68.1 | 51 | 26 | 35 | 49 | 3.42 |
| 1993 | ATL | 3 | 1 | 43 | 6 | 0 | 66.0 | 52 | 21 | 36 | 59 | 2.86 |
| 1994 | ATL | 9 | 4 | 20 | 17 | 0 | 112.1 | 90 | 43 | 45 | 111 | 3.45 |
| 1995 | ATL | 7 | 8 | 29 | 26 | 0 | 143.0 | 140 | 66 | 61 | 102 | 4.15 |
| 1996 | BAL/CLE | 4 | 6 | 24 | 12 | 0 | 69.2 | 83 | 54 | 38 | 29 | 6.98 |
| 1997 | CIN | 8 | 11 | 28 | 25 | 0 | 144.2 | 135 | 63 | 62 | 75 | 3.92 |
| 1998 | STL | 11 | 11 | 30 | 29 | 0 | 161.2 | 199 | 91 | 53 | 72 | 5.07 |
| 1999 | BOS/STL | 8 | 5 | 30 | 23 | 0 | 129.1 | 148 | 69 | 64 | 81 | 4.80 |
| 2000 | ANA | 1 | 3 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 48.1 | 57 | 35 | 29 | 30 | 6.52 |
| 2002 | COL | 3 | 1 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 44.0 | 55 | 30 | 22 | 37 | 6.14 |
| 2003 | ATL/CIN | 0 | 2 | 67 | 0 | 1 | 55.1 | 46 | 12 | 32 | 48 | 1.95 |
| 2004 | CHC | 3 | 1 | 71 | 0 | 0 | 53.0 | 39 | 15 | 27 | 51 | 2.55 |
| 2005 | CIN | 3 | 1 | 78 | 0 | 4 | 61.2 | 64 | 25 | 19 | 45 | 3.65 |
| 2006 | CIN | 1 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 28.1 | 28 | 13 | 11 | 17 | 4.13 |
| 2008 | CIN | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 3.29 |
| Career | — | 74 | 67 | 692 | 150 | 25 | 1325.1 | 1307 | 612 | 607 | 917 | 4.16 |
On this day & linked events
1989
Major-league debut: Kent Mercker
Kent Mercker made a major-league debut on September 22, 1989.
1991
Atlanta Braves Combined No-Hitter, 1991
Kent Mercker, Mark Wohlers and Alejandro Peña threw a combined no-hitter for the Atlanta Braves against the San Diego Padres on September 11, 1991, winning 1–0.
1994
Kent Mercker's No-Hitter
Kent Mercker threw a no-hitter for the Atlanta Braves against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 8, 1994, winning 6–0.
2008
Final major-league game: Kent Mercker
Kent Mercker played a final major-league game on May 30, 2008.
Image: Wknight94, CC BY-SA 3.0