Jeff Keener

Jeffrey Bruce Keener (born January 14, 1959) is a former Major League Baseball player, who appeared as a relief pitcher in two seasons with the National League's St. Louis Cardinals.

Baseball career

Drafted from the University of Kentucky in the seventh round of the 1981 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, Keener quickly progressed through the Cardinal farm system.

Keener made his Major League debut at the age of 23 on June 8, 1982 at Montreal's Olympic Stadium against the Cardinals National League East rivals, the Montreal Expos. Keener retired all four batters, two of them on strikeouts, en route to a 5-4 Cardinal victory. In a total of 19 appearances during the 1982 season, he compiled an earned run average (ERA) of 1.61, with 25 strikeouts, 22 walks, and a record of 1 win, 1 loss, 0 saves.

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 delivered pitches with a sidearm/underarm motion, rather than over the shoulder.

After baseball

After his baseball career ended, Jeff Keener returned to college, graduating from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor's degree in Education, and attaining a Masters degree in Education from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. In 2003, Jeff Keener was the first baseball player inducted into the Southeastern Illinois College Hall of Fame.

After working as baseball coach and Physical education instructor, Keener in 2008 became Principal of General John A Logan Elementary School in Murphysboro, Illinois. In 2010 he became Assistant Principal at Murphysboro High School. He is now the Principal at Murphysboro Middle School.

Jeff Keener has three children: Jonathon, Karli and Cameron.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 4/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.