No young ballplayer ever came to New York with the weight of expectations like Gregg Jefferies did when he first arrived with the Mets in 1987.
“Being compared to Mickey Mantle, one of the greatest players ever, when I heard that comparison, I just laughed to myself,” Jefferies said from his home in California. “The only thing Mickey and I had in common is that we both were switch-hitters and we both were male.”
Jefferies played with a veteran team that won a World Series in 1986.
“I did some things wrong,” Jefferies admitted. “I was two years out of high school when I came to New York. I had to learn right in New York. I came to New York with a little too much fanfare. I had figurines and posters and it was like, ‘Man, what’s going on here?’
“When I replaced Wally Backman, Wally was one of the team favorites, and Wally was really good to me, but the players weren’t real happy about some young kid coming in and taking the spot of one of the team favorites. I understood that, and I think maybe that’s why I was in high stress mode,” Jefferies said. “I was trying to do so much, trying to play really well to show those guys I could play, instead of just kind of playing.”
Jefferies was criticized by some teammates as being self-centered and immature. He also felt the wrath of the fans when he struggled. In 1991 Jefferies was so frustrated that he presented an open letter on WFAN to try to put an end to the turmoil. In the letter he wrote, that teammates should be more supportive, rather “than complaining and bickering and pointing fingers.”
“It was a different era,” Jefferies said of those days when young players’ mistakes were not as easily overlooked as today. “Looking back, I enjoyed my time there, but I did make mistakes. When we were winning, though, there was nothing better. Just the whole atmosphere of New York was really fun for me.
“I’m not a bad guy and some of the things that people said were a little hurtful, but it comes with the territory and you have to be a man about it.”
The Mets cut ties with Jefferies on Dec. 11, 1991 — along with Kevin McReynolds, who also had his problems, and Keith Miller — in a deal with the Royals for Bret Saberhagen and Bill Pecota.
Jefferies ended up playing for six different teams. His career batting average was a respectable .289 with 126 home runs, 663 RBI, 1,593 hits and 126 stolen bases.
Jefferies, 42, coaches baseball at Pleasanton’s Foothill High, a top-notch program. His father Rich, a former scout with the Cubs, who also coached high school and college baseball, is his assistant.
“My dad’s done it all,” Jefferies said. “It’s really nice to coach with him.”
Two torn hamstrings ended Jefferies career in 2000.
“I was lucky enough to have 13 years in but it was kind of cut short a little bit, so every spring training I missed the smell of the grass and I missed the guys,” he said. “It’s fun coaching and getting that competitive edge again. As a coach I’d say I’m kind of a mixture between my dad and Joe Torre.”
Jefferies played for Torre in St. Louis in 1993-94. Torre got the best out of Jefferies, who was an All-Star those two seasons. He batted .342 and .325. Those were his only All-Star seasons. After the ’94 season, Jefferies was a free agent and signed with Philadelphia.
“Joe Torre was the best manager I ever had,” Jefferies said, “and he always had that open door policy. That’s what I try to do with my players and I think that’s so important for high school kids, who sometimes have the weight of the world on their shoulders.”
Jefferies marvels at the way Derek Jeter and David Wright approach the game and points to them as role models for his players. He’s had offers to return to the big leagues as a coach but for now, he is staying home. He has four children, the two oldest are from a previous marriage. His oldest, Jake, is a sophomore on the team. Jefferies was watching TV with him one day several years ago when the names of steroid-linked players’ rolled across the screen.
“My son turned to me and said, ‘Dad, your name wasn’t on there,'” Jefferies recalled. “I can’t tell you the pride that I felt right there. He knew it was hard work for me, what I did, what I accomplished.”
Jefferies played with passion.
“Sometimes I got criticized for that,” he said. “Sometimes I should have controlled my emotions a lot better. I made a lot of mistakes and you just learn from it and try to pass it on to your son or your daughter and try to keep them from making the same mistakes that you made in your life.”
Three years ago Jefferies was visiting New York. He was not sure what kind of reception he would receive, so he told his wife to be prepared for anything.
“But so many people came up and said nice things to me it made me feel good, it made me feel that most of my time wasn’t wasted,” he said. “People appreciated that I tried as hard as I could.”
Much was made of Jefferies extensive training routine, including a drill where he stood in his pool and swung a bat under water.
“To me it just seemed harmless,” said Jefferies, who starred at legendary Serra High in San Mateo, Calif. “Other guys have strange drills, too. I didn’t know it was going to be like it was in Sports Illustrated. It was like, ‘Holy Moly, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.’ I was very na*ve.
“What’s funny is we learned that drill from the San Francisco 49ers,” he said. “They used to train in a pool in Santa Clara and we thought, ‘Shoot, let’s try swinging a bat in there.’ It was resistance to make you stronger.”
That pool drill is used today by his high school team. “They love it,” Jefferies said.
Somehow, through it all, Gregg Jefferies has managed to keep his head above water.