Starting Nine: Kent Mercker, a Very Good Brave

This week served as another reminder that the business of baseball truly sucks.

The first two series of the 2022 season have been canceled as the players remained locked out amid the collective bargaining agreement negotiations. When, exactly, the game will return is anyone’s guess, though — unsurprisingly — you can wager on such things, as SportsBetting.ag puts the best odds on Opening Day coming in May.

But consider this an escape, because in the same way that MLB has stripped its digital platforms of any likeness of current players, leaving only content pertaining to the game’s past, the Starting Nine is continuing its stroll down Braves memory lane.

Kent Mercker wasn’t about to turn the Braves’ Fab Four — those spots held down by Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Steve Avery — into a Fab Five, but he would wind up with something on his resume that those Hall of Famers and the early 1990s phenom were missing. Or more accurately, two somethings.

Over eight years, two stints and 251 games in Atlanta, did indeed Mercker prove to be a Very Good Brave.

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1. The answer to a trivia question, Pt. II

A new addition to the Braves rotation in 1994 — more on that transition from the bullpen later — John Smoltz would tell me years later that they expected Mercker to be on a strict pitch count. Not only was that April 8th outing his first of the season, but Mercker had also never thrown more than six innings in a major league game. Instead, he’d make history and become the only member of Atlanta’s fabled 1990s rotations to throw a no-hitter. He struck out 10, three of those against future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, but it wasn’t all domination. Terry Pendleton made a running throw for one out and Deion Sanders delivered a diving catch, and Mercker caught break when Mark Lemke caught an Eric Karros line drive in the sixth inning when he was covering second on a steal attempt. “A no-hitter is luck,” Mercker would say. “If it was skill, how many would Tom Glavine have?” Mercker knows a thing or two about no-nos, because not only was he the architect of the last from the Braves, but he was also actually a part of the last two.

2. The answer to a trivial question, Pt. II

There have been four pitchers to both start a no-hitter and be part of a combined no-no: Vida Blue, Kevin Millwood, Cole Hamels and Mercker. Three years before his defining start against the Dodgers, Mercker teamed with Mark Wohlers and Alejandro Pena to no-hit the Padres on Sept. 11, 1991. Making his third career start, Mercker threw six innings, striking out six with two walks over 82 pitches. That included fanning the side in the second inning, part of a personal run in which he’d thrown 12 scoreless innings. But he was pulled as part of a double switch when Sid Bream was lifted for a pinch runner in the sixth and Brian Hunter came in to play first. The game wasn’t without its controversy, as Darrin Jackson hit a slower roller that Pendleton didn’t field, only taking a stab at the ball. It was ruled an error. “The ball was lost in the lights,” said Pendleton. “I couldn’t make a play on it if I had to, but I’ll take an ‘E’ on it any time for a no-hitter.” Along with Mercker, the Braves have ties to two more of those pitchers to start and be part of a combined no-hitter. Of course, Millwood pitched six years in Atlanta, and Hamels — who was on the mound for six innings of the Phillies’ combined no-no on Sept. 1, 2014, which came at the Braves’ expense — caused further Braves expense when made just one start in 2020 after signing an $18 million free agent deal.

3. Role player

From his Sept. 22, 1989, debut against the Reds through the end of the 1993 season, Mercker was a fixture in the Braves’ bullpen and one of the more dependable relieves in the NL in that span. His 3.15 ERA was 21st in the circuit across that span and he was tied for 13th with a 125 ERA+. He was even more dependable in the postseason, appearing in 10 combined games in 1991, 1992 and 1993 with a 1.86 ERA. Mercker started games sparingly, registering a 3.31 ERA in 11 among his first 184 career games. But come 1994, Cox opted to make Mercker his fifth starter, and it paid off immediately with that no-hitter vs. the Dodgers. But that season — in which he had a 3.45 ERA in the strike-shortened year — would prove the height of his career as a starter. A year later, Mercker’s ERA ballooned to 4.15, and it would be the end of his time in Atlanta. For now.

4. Victim of cost-cutting

Often skipped over in a rotation full of future Hall of Famers, Mercker made no more than 26 starts with the Braves, and when he was dealt to the Orioles in December 1995 for prospects Joe Borowski and Rachaad Stewart, he was elated. “I look forward to getting the ball every five days,” he said at the time. “To me, the only way you get better is to get the ball. In 1994, I threw a no-hitter and I had to wait 10 days to pitch again.” Moving Mercker was largely a cost-cutting measure for the Braves, who were looking to push their payroll to $50 million. Mercker was coming off a season in which he made $2.24 million. Unfortunately for Mercker, opportunity didn’t lead to success. He had a 7.76 ERA over 12 starts for the Orioles, was dropped from the rotation, and then dealt to the Indians in July for Eddie Murray.

5. ‘I defied death and lived to tell about it’

Mercker was five years removed from his first Braves tenure, and three seasons away from his return to Atlanta when, on May 11, 2000, while pitching for the Angels, he became dizzy and got a headache. A blood vessel in his brain had burst, a cerebral hemorrhage that left him hospitalized for 12 days. “I defied death and lived to tell about it,” Mercker said at the time. “The whole thing has been eerie.” Just over three months and 80 games after the life-threatening incident, Mercker was pitching again. Underscoring his dark sense of humor, when Angels manager Mike Scioscia asked the lefty how he was feeling upon his return, Mercker replied “Pretty good. ... But I got a little headache.” Mercker made five starts and appeared in nine games in all the rest of that season and would pitch across seven more big-league seasons.

6. ‘It amazes me that they want me’

In 1995, the Braves traded Mercker to cut payroll, and in 2003, with the lefty posting a 2.35 ERA over 49 appearances out of the Reds bullpen, Atlanta traded to bring him back in a waiver-wire deal. The Braves sent a player to be named later — which ended up being right-hander Matt Belisle — to Cincinnati. “I was looking at the standings and they’re 12 games up,” Mercker said. “It amazes me that they want me. They got rid of me once. I guess they think with a 12-game lead, I can’t screw it up.” Of course, he didn’t, as the Braves won the NL East by 10 games, with Mercker posting a 1.06 ERA over 18 appearances, including one inning pitched against the Cubs in the NLDS.

7. Taking the Fifth (pick)

The Braves selected Mercker out of Ohio’s Dublin-Coffman High School with the fifth overall pick in 1986, with the lefty taken between Kevin Brown and Gary Sheffield. The franchise has had an interesting relationship with players taken at No. 5. There have been 12 players at that draft position who have had double-digit career bWARs, and four of them have played for the Braves. That includes Dale Murphy (who the Braves took in 1974), J.D. Drew, (a 1998 pick by the Cardinals), Mark Teixeira (taken in 2001 by the Rangers) and Mercker.

8. Found on eBay

While his rotation mates, who would later appear in the Chicks Dig The Long Ball’ commercial, were raking, Mercker did anything but. During the 1989-96 seasons, Mercker had the lowest batting average (.068) of any pitcher with at least 100 at-bats and had the second worst OPS (.185) during that span, with a 43 percent strikeout rate. That being said, for $695, you can be the proud owner of Mercker’s model #R161 Louisville Slugger from the Braves’ title-winning 1995 season. With a mere eight hits in his 117 at-bats that season, at least you can at least deem it “slightly used.”

9. For your viewing pleasure

Durwood Fincher, better known as Mr. Doubletalk, has been at it for more than 25 years. He’s pranked golfers, been on Regis & Kelly, and FOX News. He had Mercker shaking his head when he tried to “interview” him back in the day at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium. The shtick is worth a watch and as an aside, it was even better when Fincher met Kris Medlen and Peter Moylan years later.