Bob Horner

The 25-year-old brother of Atlanta Brave first baseman Bob Horner, who had battled leukemia for the past 20 months, died Monday of pneumonia, hospital officials said. Scott Horner died at 8:33 a.m. at St. Joseph's Hospital, where he had been treated since July 30, said hospital spokeswoman Bridgett O'Geara. "It had nothing to do with the leukemia," said Scott's father, Jim. "They could find no more leukemia in his body. Isn't that something?

Three days before, when rain had chased everybody else under cover, he was a solitary figure on a soaked practice field. The workout had been interrupted and the players who hadn't made the trip to West Palm Beach were in the dugout when there was a sudden burst of laughter. "Stay alive down there," Oriole pitcher Dave Schmidt shouted after the hitter dropped to the ground to avoid an errant baseball. "Get a good pitch," Schmidt yelled when the hitter again had to duck to avoid being hit.

Bob Horner, former Atlanta Brave infielder making his Japanese professional baseball debut, hit a two-run homer Tuesday, leading the Yakult Swallows to a 5-3 victory over the Hanshin Tigers. Horner, 29, signed with the Swallows April 14 for an estimated $2 million this season after becoming a free agent with the Braves. He had received no offers from other major league teams. Before a crowd of 52,000 at Jingu Stadium, he walked, beat out an infield hit, homered and grounded out.

Bob Horner, who was trying to catch on with the Baltimore Orioles as a free agent, retired at the age of 31, saying his shoulder has not healed sufficiently from surgery last summer.

Last Sunday, less than 24 hours before his younger brother could no longer fight leukemia, Bob Horner hit his 18th home run of the season. Like many of Horner's homers, this one looked too simple, as if all it took was a bat and your once-a-summer softball swing. He had watched San Francisco Giants starter Mike Krukow miss three times before a strike was called. Then Krukow threw another strike and the count was 3-2.

Bob Horner agreed to attend the Baltimore Orioles' training camp for a tryout.

Bob Horner may not have the credentials of Jack Clark, but he is beginning to look pretty good to the St. Louis Cardinals. Horner, a poor April hitter, is already making big contributions to the Cardinals. The former Atlanta Braves slugger, signed as a free agent by the Cardinals after spending a year in Japan, hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning Wednesday at St. Louis to drive in the winning run in a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

His name: Luigi Nakajima. Half Italian, half Japanese and totally dedicated to his job as Bob Horner's interpreter with the Yakult Swallows of Japan's Central League last year. "He went everywhere with me, the hotel, restaurants, name it," Horner said the other day. "He sat next to me on the bench. He'd call time and come out on the field when the manager wanted a special play." Nakajima still works for the Swallows. Horner, though, is now employed by the National League champion St.