Former big leaguer Jeff McKnight dies at 52 from leukemia

BEE BRANCH, Ark. (AP) Jeff McKnight, a versatile player who spent six seasons with the New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles, has died. He was 52.

McKnight's family told the Mets that McKnight died Sunday after having leukemia for 10 years. His father, Jim, who briefly played for the Chicago Cubs in the early 1960s, was born in Bee Branch.

Jeff McKnight made his big league debut in 1989 with the Mets and hit .233 overall with five home runs and 34 RBIs in 218 games. He singled in his final at-bat, for the Mets in August 1994 on the final day before a players' strike wiped out the rest of the season.

McKnight was mostly an infielder, and played every position in the majors except center field and pitcher.

McKnight hit his first big league home run off Jack Morris, an eighth-inning shot that helped rally the Orioles over Detroit at Memorial Stadium.