Kent Franklin Mercker (born February 1, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. 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 Export is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, surrounded entirely by the Municipality of Murrysville. The population was 893 at the 2020 census. History A post office called Export has been in operation since 1892. The ...

, before his family settled in Dublin, Ohio in 1980. 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, , and appeared in two games that season. During his years with the Braves, Mercker split time between the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

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 and seasons. After the 1995 season, the Braves traded Mercker to the Baltimore Orioles. Mercker then became a journeyman, spending time with Baltimore (), Cleveland (1996), Cincinnati (, , -, 2008), St. Louis (-), Boston (1999),

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

(), Colorado (), Atlanta (2003), and the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(). He signed with Cincinnati for the third time in his career on December 20, 2004. Mercker received the Tony Conigliaro Award in 2000 following his recovery from a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

. Mercker has taken part in two no-hit games during his career, both with the Braves. The first, on September 11, , 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. 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. On February 8, , Mercker signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati with an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. 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.

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Mercker, Kent 1968 births Living people Anaheim Angels players Atlanta Braves players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Indiana Boston Red Sox players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds announcers Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Rockies players St. Louis Cardinals players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball pitchers Gulf Coast Braves players Durham Bulls players Greenville Braves players Richmond Braves players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Lake Elsinore Storm players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Dayton Dragons players Louisville Bats players Pickleball players People from Brownsburg, Indiana

Career

See also

References

External links