Innis effectively used his submarine repertoire of sliders and sinkers to be a dependable force out of the New York Mets bullpen for seven years. Despite pitching well in call-ups in 1987 and 1988, Innis was stuck behind a deep bullpen, including Roger McDowell, Randy Myers, and fellow sidearmed reliever Terry Leach.
When Leach was traded to the Kansas City Royals in mid-1989, Innis got a full-time shot in the bigs. With his unique fast-healing “rubber” arm, he became the workhorse of the Mets’ pen. In 1991 Innis became the first pitcher to appear in at least 60 games without recording a win or a save. Yet he broke that streak as early as April 6, 1992, when he recorded the win on the team’s Opening Day. That season he appeared in a franchise-record 76 games. (This would later be broken in 1999 by both Armando Benitez and Turk Wendell.)
When Innis was not offered a contract by the Mets after the 1993 season, the Minnesota Twins signed him to a minor-league contract in February 1994. A month later he had the dubious honor of giving up Michael Jordan’s first spring training hit, an infield single. He appeared in seven games with the Triple-A squad before retiring.
