Kent Mercker

Kent Mercker
Pitcher
Born: February 1, 1968 Dublin, Ohio
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
September 22, 1989, for the Atlanta Braves
Last MLB appearance
May 30, 2008, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	74–67
Earned run average	4.16
Strikeouts	917
Teams
Atlanta Braves (1989–1995) Baltimore Orioles (1996) Cleveland Indians (1996) Cincinnati Reds (1997) St. Louis Cardinals (1998–1999) Boston Red Sox (1999) Anaheim Angels (2000) Colorado Rockies (2002) Cincinnati Reds (2003) Atlanta Braves (2003) Chicago Cubs (2004) Cincinnati Reds (2005–2006, 2008)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1995) Pitched a no-hitter on April 8, 1994 Pitched a combined no-hitter on September 11, 1991

Kent Franklin Mercker (born February 1, 1968) is a retired American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played for nine teams over his seventeen-year career.

Career

Mercker was born in Dublin, Ohio. He was taken in the first round (5th pick overall) of the 1986 Major League Baseball Draft by the Atlanta Braves. He made his major league debut with the Braves on September 22, 1989, and appeared in two games that season.

During his years with the Braves, Mercker split time between the bullpen and the starting rotation. After serving as a reliever for the vast part of his first five seasons, he joined the Braves' rotation full-time for the 1994 and 1995 seasons.

After the 1995 season, the Braves traded Mercker to the Baltimore Orioles. Mercker then became a journeyman, spending time with Baltimore (1996), Cleveland (1996), Cincinnati (1997, 2003, 2005-2006, 2008), St. Louis (1998-1999), Boston (1999), Anaheim (2000), Colorado (2002), Atlanta (2003), and the Chicago Cubs (2004). During the 2004 season, Mercker reportedly called the broadcast booth to complain about commentary by Steve Stone and, along with Moisés Alou, confronted Stone on a team flight. He signed with Cincinnati for the third time in his career on December 20, 2004.^[1]

Mercker received the Tony Conigliaro Award in 2000 following his recovery from a cerebral hemorrhage.

Mercker has taken part in two no-hit games during his career, both with the Braves. The first, on September 11, 1991 against the San Diego Padres at Fulton County Stadium, was a combined effort between Mercker, the starter, who pitched six innings; Mark Wohlers, who pitched the seventh and eighth innings; and Alejandro Peña, who pitched the ninth. The Braves defeated the Padres 1-0. The second no-hitter was a solo effort by Mercker, as he no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 8, 1994 at Dodger Stadium in a 6-0 victory. To date, this no-hitter is the last to be pitched by a Brave.^[2]

On February 8, 2008, Mercker signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati with an invitation to spring training.^[3] He pitched in 15 games for the Reds that season. He currently works as a broadcaster for the Reds.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
• List of players named in the Mitchell Report

References

1. http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=118967
2. Sports Illustrated. "Most Recent No-Hitters, by Team". Accessed April 26, 2010.
3. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2008-02-08-1789695687_x.htm

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)