{{Short description|American baseball player (1963–2015)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Jeff McKnight |position=Utility player |image=1988 CandL Colorcraft - Jeff McKnight (cropped).jpg |caption=McKnight with the Tidewater Tides {{circa}} 1988 |width=200 |bats=Switch |throws=Right |birth_date={{Birth date|1963|2|18}} |birth_place=Conway, Arkansas, U.S. |death_date= {{death date and age|2015|3|1|1963|2|18}} |death_place=Bee Branch, Arkansas, U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=June 6 |debutyear=1989 |debutteam=New York Mets |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=August 11 |finalyear=1994 |finalteam=New York Mets |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=.254 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=12 |stat3label=Runs batted in |stat3value=68 |teams= *New York Mets ({{mlby|1989}}, {{mlby|1992}}–{{mlby|1994}}) *Baltimore Orioles ({{mlby|1990}}–{{mlby|1991}}) }}
'''Jefferson Alan McKnight''' (February 18, 1963 – March 1, 2015) was an American utility man in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles in parts of six seasons spanning 1989–1994. McKnight was able to play all positions except center field and pitcher, making the largest number of appearances as a first baseman with 39. He was the son of former major league player Jim McKnight.
McKnight starred in high school baseball and basketball at Southside-Bee Branch High School. He played college baseball at Westark Community College, which later became the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/21705/jeff-mcknight/|title=Jeff McKnight Stats & Scouting Report - Baseball America}}</ref>
McKnight's professional career overall spanned 16 years. Originally drafted by the Mets in 1983, he finished his career in 1998 with the independent Newark Bears. He batted .171 in 16 appearances with the Orioles and .383 in 22 games for the Rochester Red Wings during the 1991 season before his release on October 16 of that year.<ref>[https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-10-17-1991290180-story.html "Orioles cut trio off roster," ''The Baltimore Sun'', Thursday, October 17, 1991.] Retrieved December 7, 2021</ref>
He died in 2015 at the age of 52 due to leukemia, a disease he was battling for 10 years.<ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/bitterbill/met-jeff-mcknight-dead-52-blog-entry-1.2135001 ''New York Daily News'' (March 2, 2015)]</ref>
==See also== * List of second-generation Major League Baseball players
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Baseballstats|mlb=118786|espn=2180|br=m/mcknije01|brm=mcknig001jef}}, or [https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/M/Pmcknj001.htm Retrosheet]
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKnight, Jeff}} Category:1963 births Category:2015 deaths Category:Arkansas Razorbacks baseball players Category:Baltimore Orioles players Category:Baseball players from Arkansas Category:Columbia Mets players Category:Columbia Mules players Category:Deaths from leukemia in Arkansas Category:Jackson Mets players Category:Little Falls Mets players Category:Lynchburg Mets players Category:Major League Baseball infielders Category:Navegantes del Magallanes players Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Category:New York Mets players Category:Newark Bears players Category:Norfolk Tides players Category:Rochester Red Wings players Category:Sportspeople from Conway, Arkansas Category:Tidewater Tides players Category:20th-century American sportsmen
{{US-baseball-infielder-stub}}