Jeff Bittiger, former Mets draft pick and MLB pitcher, dead at 63

Jeff Bittiger, a former major-league pitcher who originally was drafted by the Mets and later served for more than two decades as a scout for the Athletics, died Saturday.

He was 63.

The Mets chose the Jersey City native and Secaucus HS product in the seventh round of the 1980 draft.

Jeff Bittiger, a former pitcher whom the Mets drafted in 1980, has died at the age of 63. Getty Images

Bittiger spent six seasons in 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 round in 1983.

Following a trade, Bittiger made his major-league debut with the Phillies in 1986. The right-hander also pitched for the Twins and the White Sox, finishing with a 4-6 record and a 4.77 ERA over 33 appearances.

Bittiger played in the minors and independent leagues until retirement at the age of 40 before taking a job as an area scout with Oakland in 2003.

Jeff Bittiger was a longtime scout for the Athletics. X/@Athletics

Among the players he signed over 22 seasons working for the A’s were former All-Star closer and 2009 AL Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey.

The team did not disclose a cause of death 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 current ownership advisor Billy Beane said in a statement. “He knew pitchers inside and out and you could tell how much he loved baseball just by being around him.”