Jeff Bittiger, a former major-league pitcher who initially was drafted by the Mets and later served for greater than twenty years as a scout for the Athletics, died Saturday.
He was 63.
The Mets selected the Jersey Metropolis native and Secaucus HS product within the seventh spherical of the 1980 draft.
Bittiger spent six seasons of their minor-league system, reaching Triple-A Tidewater. He was a rotation member alongside Ron Darling on the Tides squad — managed by Davey Johnson — that reached the Triple-A championship spherical in 1983.
Following a commerce, Bittiger made his major-league debut with the Phillies in 1986. The precise-hander additionally pitched for the Twins and the White Sox, ending with a 4-6 report and a 4.77 ERA over 33 appearances.
Bittiger performed within the minors and unbiased leagues till retirement on the age of 40 earlier than taking a job as an space scout with Oakland in 2003.
Among the many gamers he signed over 22 seasons working for the A’s had been former All-Star nearer and 2009 AL Rookie of the Yr Andrew Bailey.
The staff didn’t disclose a reason for demise for Bittiger.
“Jeff spent his whole life around the game: playing, coaching, and scouting. He was as good a person as he was a scout, and he was a hell of a scout,” former A’s GM and present possession advisor Billy Beane stated in a press release. “He knew pitchers inside and out and you could tell how much he loved baseball just by being around him.”
