CARDINALS MAGAZINE 109
Making his first “appearance” for St. Louis since he left as a free agent after
All-Star seasons in 1993 and ’94, Jefferies threw a first pitch May 4 at Busch.When the Cardinals traded for Gregg
Jefferies before spring training in 1993,
they figured they were getting a hitter with
upside. Someone who could deliver in the
clutch and wouldn’t strike out with abandon.
So they surrendered former All-Star Felix
Jose, a middle-of-the-order bat but with
back-to-back seasons of 100 whiffs, to
acquire Jefferies from Kansas City.
“We feel he’s a more consistent and more
disciplined hitter,” general manager Dal
Maxvill said of Jefferies when the trade was
announced. “We think he can win a batting
championship.”
But there was one catch: They weren’t
sure which position Jefferies would play.
At the time, it was merely another
question in the 25-year-old switch-hitter’s
uneven career, which began with a blaze
of promise – a first-round draft pick by
the Mets in ’85 and two minor league
player of the year awards – before stalling
at the big-league level. He had replaced a
popular veteran in the Mets’ lineup (second
baseman Wally Backman) and found himself
frequently maligned by the New York media
(despite hitting .276 while there).
He was traded after three full seasons to
the Royals, where he batted .285 with just
29 strikeouts in 657 plate appearances (but
26 errors playing third base), before the
Cardinals brought him back to the National
League – and settled on finding a different
infield spot for him.
The club had room at first base and
figured Jefferies could do the job, even
though he’d never played there before and
wasn’t the physical prototype at 5-foot-10.
“If I can play it, he can play it,” reasoned
club manager Joe Torre, who’d caught and
played first and third in his big-league career.
Turns out, Jefferies could.
Not only did he prove to be proficient
at first, he also hit, able to concentrate
more fully on offense due to the position
GREGG JEFFERIES
CATCHINGUP WITH...