Pitched a combined no-hitter on September 11, 1991
Kent Franklin Mercker (born February 1, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseballleft-handedpitcher. He played for nine teams over his 17-year career.
Career
Mercker was born in Brownsburg, Indiana and lived in several different cities, including four years in Export, Pennsylvania, before his family settled in Dublin, Ohio in 1980.[1] 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.
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 13th no-hitter in Braves franchise history, attendance was 20,477 at Fulton-County Stadium.[4]
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.[5]
On February 8, 2008, Mercker signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati with an invitation to spring training.[6] He pitched in 15 games for the Reds that season. He currently works as a broadcaster for the Reds.
Mercker played in the 2022 Minto U.S. Open Pickleball Championships.[7]
^100 Things Braves Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die: Revised and Updated, Jack Wilkinson, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2019, ISBN978-1-62937-694-3, p.172