500 at-bats. Although Horner was still near his peak, the Major League clubs were then colluding to drive down salaries, so no offers were made to Horner, whose asking price was $2 million. (In 2004, Horner received more than $7 million from the successful lawsuit the players filed against the owners and their illegal collusion.) After failing to reach an agreement with an MLB club, Horner signed a $2 million, one-year contract with the Yakult Swallows of Japan's Central League. He was given number 50 by the organization because that was the number of home runs they expected him to hit. He ended up hitting 31 homers and had 73 RBIs for the team. Despite Yakult offering Horner a reported $10 million for a new three-year contract, Horner returned to the majors in 1988 with the St. Louis Cardinals. After 60 games, however, he injured his left shoulder. After being invited to spring training by the Baltimore Orioles in 1989, Horner announced his retirement. In his ten-year Major League career, Horner batted .277 with 218 home runs, 685 RBIs, 560 runs, 1,047 hits, 169 doubles, 8 triples, 14 stolen bases, a .340 on-base percentage, and a .499 slugging average in 1,020 games. Defensively, in 684 games at third base, he compiled a .946 fielding percentage, and in 330 games at first base, he posted a .994 fielding percentage. Overall, his career fielding percentage was .977. Legacy On July 4, 2006, Horner was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame as a member of its inaugural class. See also List of baseball players who went directly to Major League Baseball List of Major League Baseball single-game home run leaders References External links Bob Horner at Baseball Almanac Bob Horner at Bob Horner - Baseballbiography.com What Ever Happened to Bob Horner? 1957 births Living people People from Junction City, Kansas Sportspeople from Glendale, Arizona Golden Spikes Award winners Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners National League All-Stars Atlanta Braves players St. Louis Cardinals players Major League Baseball first basemen American expatriate baseball players in Japan Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Yakult Swallows players Baseball players from Kansas College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award winners National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees All-American college baseball players