Gregg Jefferies

"For the football player of the same name see Greg Jeffries (football player)."Infobox MLB retired
name=Gregg Jefferies


caption=
position=Infielder / Outfielder
bats=Switch
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1967|8|1
city-state|Burlingame|California
debutdate=September 6
debutyear=by|1987
debutteam=New York Mets
finaldate=May 29
finalyear=by|2000
finalteam=Detroit Tigers
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.289
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=126
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=663
teams=
* New York Mets (by|1987-by|1991)
* Kansas City Royals (by|1992)
* St. Louis Cardinals (by|1993-by|1994)
* Philadelphia Phillies (by|1995-by|1998)
* Anaheim Angels (by|1998)
* Detroit Tigers (by|1999-by|2000)
highlights=
* 2x All-Star selection (1993, 1994)
* Led NL in doubles in 1990 with 40

Gregory Scott Jefferies (born August 1 1967 in Burlingame, California) is a former infielder/outfielder in Major League Baseball who had a 14-year career from 1987 to 2000.

Growing up in Millbrae, California and attending Millbrae grammar school and Taylor Junior High Jeffries was commonly seen on the baseball field often competing successfully against much older kids in the neighborhood. Drafted by the Mets out of Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California in the first round of the 1985 amateur draft (#20 overall), Jefferies burned up the minor leagues, hitting .331 with decent power and good speed, rocketing from Kingsport of the Appalachian League (rookie) to Jackson of the Texas League (AA) in just two years. He was named Minor League Player of the Year for both 1986 and 1987, hitting a robust .367 with 20 home runs, 48 doubles and 101 RBI for Jackson in the latter year, earning Jefferies a cup of coffee with the big club at the end of the 1987 season. He went 3 for 6 in 6 games, all at the tender age of 19, making him the youngest player in the Major Leagues that season, as Mets fans salivated in anticipation.

Convinced of his budding greatness, the Mets decided they needed to make room for the lad. The only problem was, the Mets didn't really know where to play him, as the veteran squad was full at the spots Jefferies played in the minor leagues (shortstop, third base and second base). The stellar all-around play of Howard Johnson and the solid defense and occasional bat of Kevin Elster made it difficult for him to see time at third base or shortstop, respectively, and the team already had a platoon of veterans Tim Teufel and Wally Backman at second base in place. The outfield was full also, with the team finding it difficult to get popular outfielders Lenny Dykstra and Mookie Wilson playing time alongside superstar Darryl Strawberry and the ever solid Kevin McReynolds, so any thoughts of that option were quickly dropped and Jefferies was sent to AAA Tidewater to start the 1988 season.

After spending most of the 1988 season at AAA (where he hit 'just' .282 with less power), Jefferies was recalled at the end of August and allowed to play out the year as a starter, mostly at third base. He responded by hitting .321 with good power over the last 29 games of the 1988 season, giving Mets fans something extra to cheer about as the team rolled to a 100-60 record to take the NL East that year. His subsequent solid play in the NLCS versus the Los Angeles Dodgers that year only made the Mets faithful even more intent on believing Jefferies was the future of the ballclub, so the Mets front office made it their mission to open up a roster spot for the budding superstar.

The Mets finally made it happen after the season when they traded Backman to the Minnesota Twins, leaving the second base open for Jefferies and the beginning of a new future. But Jefferies faltered, hitting just .258 with little selectivity as a rookie in 1989, far below the team's expectations, and he became unpopular with teammates and fans for his incessant whining and lack of production. On May 24, 1991, Jefferies pleaded his case in an open letter read on WFAN, New York's sports radio station.

In the letter, Jefferies wrote: "When a pitcher is having trouble getting players out, when a hitter is having trouble hitting, or when a player makes an error, I try to support them in whatever way I can. I don't run to the media to belittle them or to draw more attention to their difficult times. I can only hope that one day those teammates who have found it convenient to criticize me will realize that we are all in this together. If only we can concentrate more on the games than complaining and bickering and pointing fingers, we would all be better off." This did little more than annoy his teammates further while burying himself with team's fan base, who put the 22 year old in their dog house and never let him out afterwards.

The 1990 baseball season would be kinder to Jefferies on the field, as he raised his batting average up to .283 while scoring 96 runs and hitting 40 doubles, but the team finished 2nd for the second straight year and it seemed nothing he did was ever good enough for the fan base, who viewed him as something more than he really was. He slipped down again in 1991, hitting .272 with just 30 extra base hits in 486 at bats as the team slipped to 5th place and, at age 23, it looked like his time was already up in New York. That offseason the team traded him, along with McReynolds and infielder Keith Miller, to the Kansas City Royals for former allstar pitcher Bret Saberhagen and utility man Bill Pecota, ending his miserable stay in Flushing and forever labeling him a disappointment in the Big Apple.

After playing the 1992 season with the Royals, he moved on to the St. Louis Cardinals, where he would have his two best seasons, batting .342 and .325, respectively, while finding a home at first base and being named to the National League All-Star team in both the 1993 and 1994 seasons. He signed a lucrative contract with the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1994 season due to a dispute over a no-trade clause the Cardinals wouldn't give him, and he moved to the outfield for the Phillies, where he performed adequately over the 1995, 1996 and 1997 seasons, but injuries to his thumb and hamstring affected him greatly and he never did post the kind of numbers the team envisioned when they signed him. In 1998, he was traded mid-season to the Anaheim Angels, where he hit .347 in 19 games before moving to the Detroit Tigers the next year. He hit a collective .231 for the Tigers over two seasons before he retired in 2000.

For his career, Jefferies had a career .289 batting average with 126 home runs, 663 RBIs and 196 stolen bases. He never reached the expectations thrust upon him in the mid-80s, and is still thought of unkindly in Mets circles to this day.

Jefferies now resides in Pleasanton, California with his wife Jeannie Marshall, a 1999 graduate of neighboring Foothill High School and Cal State East Bay.

ee also

* List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
* Hitting for the cycle

External links

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