Former Mets reliever Jeff Innis dies at 59
Jeff Innis lines up the pitch for the Mets during a game in the 1989 season. He died on Sunday at age 59. Credit: Getty Images/Scott Halleran
Jeff Innis, a former sidearming righthanded reliever for the Mets, died on Sunday after a long battle with cancer. He was 59.
Innis’ death was announced by Jay Horwitz, the Mets vice president of alumni media relations.
Innis appeared in 288 games, including one start, for the Mets from 1987 to 1993. He went 10-20 with a 3.05 ERA and five saves.
"Jeff was proud of the fact that the Mets were the only team he played for in the big leagues," Horwitz said, noting that Innis took part in a Mets fantasy camp in November.
But Innis’ cancer, which he had battled since 2017, returned. His family recently set up a GoFundMe page to help move Innis from a Houston hospital to an Atlanta-area hospice.
The family set a goal of $15,000. The GoFundMe page received more than $75,000 in donations. Innis was able to return to the Atlanta area on Thursday.
"On behalf of his wife, Kelly, and his kids, Keenan and Shannon, I wanted to thank all of the many fans who contributed to the GoFundMe," Horwitz said. "He was just 59. Way too young to die."
The Mets drafted Innis, a native of central Illinois, in the 13th round in 1983 out of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 1992, Innis set the then-Mets record for appearances in a season with 76.
"Great teammate," former Mets closer John Franco said. "Great guy. We had a lot of laughs in the bullpen. Always took the ball ... What a shame."
After his Mets tenure ended, Innis bounced around the minors for two more years. Pitching for the Twins in spring training in 1994, he gave up the first hit of Michael Jordan’s baseball career. Innis signed with the Phillies in 1995 as a spring training replacement player during the baseball strike, but he did not return to the majors after the strike ended.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
