Jeffrey David Innis (July 5, 1962January 30, 2022) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played seven seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). Nicknamed "I-Man", he played for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

from 1987 to 1993. He batted and threw right-handed.

Early life

Innis was born in

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Ce ...

, on July 5, 1962. He was one of two children of Peter Innis and June (Enos), who both worked as teachers. Innis attended Eisenhower High School in his hometown. He went on to study at the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

and earned a psychology degree.

Amateur career

Innis played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

(CCBL) in 1981 and 1982. He led the league in saves and was a league all-star in both seasons, winning the league title with the Kettleers in 1981. He was subsequently drafted by the

in the thirteenth round of the

1983 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1983 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Compensation picks Other notable players *Bill Swift, 2nd round, 29th overall by the Minnesota Twins, but did not ...

. Innis was later inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2008.

Professional career

Innis played five seasons in the minor leagues from 1983 to 1987. He made his MLB debut on May 16, 1987, at the age of 24, pitching two innings, striking out three, and being the losing pitcher in a 5–4 defeat to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

. He also made the only

start Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports *Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms *St ...

of his major league career on May 26 that year, receiving a

no decision A no decision (sometimes written no-decision) is one of either of two sports statistics scenarios; one in baseball and softball, and the other in boxing and related combat sports. Baseball and softball A starting pitcher who leaves a game withou ...

after surrendering two

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

over four innings against the Giants. He subsequently posted a 3.16

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and 28

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s over

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

in his first MLB season. Innis pitched in only 12 games in 1988 before being sent down to the minor leagues. However, he posted a career-best 1.89 ERA in the majors that year, and was credited with his first major league win on June 4 against 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 started the 1989 season with the

Tidewater Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

and remained there until June, when Terry Leach was traded to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. Innis finished the year with a 3.18 ERA and 16 strikeouts over innings. He was limited to three games pitched in April of the following year before being sent back to Tidewater. He was eventually promoted back to the major league roster in June and collected his first major league save on June 29 against the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. During the 1991 season, he compiled a 0–2

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

along with a 2.66 ERA and a career-high 47 strikeouts in innings. He finished ninth in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL) in games pitched (69), and became the first major league pitcher to appear in 60 games without recording a win or a save. This ironically factored against him during

salary arbitration Free agency in Major League Baseball (MLB) concerns players whose contracts with a team have expired and who are therefore eligible to sign with another team. Free agents may be eligible for pendulum arbitration, also called "salary arbitration" or ...

at the end of the season. Innis had a 6–9 record, a 2.86 ERA and 39 strikeouts in a career-high 88 innings pitched in 1992. He set a franchise record of 76 games pitched, and finished fifth in the league in games pitched and sixth in

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

(6). Innis played his final major league game on October 2, 1993, at the age of 31. In a seven-season career, he posted a 10–20 win–loss record with a 3.05 ERA in 288

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...

. At the time of his death, Innis's 288 games pitched for the franchise was twelfth all-time.

Personal life

Innis married Kelly McNee on November 21, 1992. They met while they were studying at the University of Illinois, where she was an All-America cross-country and indoor-track runner. Together, they had two children: Keenan and Shannon. They divorced in around 2005, but remained on friendly terms. After retiring from professional baseball, Innis relocated to

Cumming, Georgia Cumming is a city in Forsyth County, Georgia, United States, and the sole incorporated area in the county. It is a suburban city, and part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In the 2020 census, the population is 7,318, up from 5,430 in 2010. Su ...

. It was reported in January 2022 that Innis was dying of cancer and that he was receiving treatment at the

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. His family set up a page on

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...

to bring him home to Atlanta to spend his final days. He died later that month on January 30 in

Dawsonville, Georgia Dawsonville is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,536 at the 2010 census, up from 619 in 2000. Dawsonville is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

. He was 59 years old.

References

External links

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Jeff Inis - Baseballbiography.com
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Ultimate Mets Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Innis, Jeff 1962 births 2022 deaths New York Mets players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Illinois Sportspeople from Decatur, Illinois Little Falls Mets players Jackson Mets players Lynchburg Mets players Tidewater Tides players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Salt Lake Buzz players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Illinois Fighting Illini baseball players Cotuit Kettleers players University of Illinois alumni Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state)