Baseball Career
Banister was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 25th round of the 1986 amateur draft. He had only one at bat in his Major League Baseball career, which resulted in a base hit. Subsequently, his career concluded with a perfect 1.000 career batting average.
Banister was called up from the minor leagues on July 23, 1991, because catcher Don Slaught was injured and manager Jim Leyland had him pinch hit in the eighth inning of that day's game against the Atlanta Braves at Three Rivers Stadium. Using Cecil Espy's bat, Banister hit a ball from Dan Petry and just beat shortstop Jeff Blauser's throw to first base.
Banister was sent back to the minors but eventually returned as a coach and field coordinator. In 1993, he served as a player-coach with the Carolina Mudcats.
Read more about this topic: Jeff Banister
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