Jeffrey Bruce Keener (born January 14, 1959) is a former

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), ...

player who appeared as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

in two seasons for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

Baseball career

Drafted from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

in the seventh round of the 1981 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, Keener quickly progressed through the Cardinals Minor League system. Keener made his Major League debut at the age of 23 on June 8, 1982 at

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

against the Cardinals

National League East The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

rivals, the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

. Keener retired all four

batters Batter or batters may refer to: Common meanings * Batter (cooking), thin dough that can be easily poured into a pan * Batter (baseball), person whose turn it is to face the pitcher * Batter (cricket), a player who is currently batting * Batter ...

, two of them on

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, en route to a 5-4 Cardinal victory. In a total of 19 appearances during the 1982 season, he compiled an

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) of 1.61, with 25

s, 22 walks, and a record of 1 win, 1 loss, 0 saves. Keener bats left-handed and throws right-handed. During the 1983 season, Keener appeared in just four games with the Cardinals, posting an ERA of 8.31. His final appearance, September 27, 1983, marked his final game in the Major Leagues. Despite his short tenure in the big leagues, Keener is remembered for his unusual submarine delivery, with which he threw pitches with a sidearm/underarm motion, rather than over the shoulder.

After baseball

After his baseball career ended, Keener returned to college, graduating from the

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in education, and attaining a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in education from

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 s ...

. In 2003, he became the first baseball player inducted into the Southeastern Illinois College Hall of Fame. Following his stints as baseball coach and physical education instructor, Keener became the principal of General John A. Logan Elementary School in

Murphysboro Murphysboro is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,093 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area. The mayor of Murphysboro is Will Stephens. The government consi ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in 2008. After that, he became assistant principal at Murphysboro High School In 2010 and later was named as the principal for Murphysboro Middle School.Murphysboro Middle School Website

Private life

Keener has three children: Jonathon, Karli and Cameron.

Sources

External links

, o

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Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keener, Jeff 1959 births Living people Arkansas Travelers players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Baseball players from Illinois Kentucky Wildcats baseball players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Christian County, Illinois People from Murphysboro, Illinois American school principals St. Louis Cardinals players University of Kentucky alumni Peninsula Oilers players