110 CARDINALS MAGAZINE
Hitting third in the order, Jefferies made “hard contact” a
habit while rarely striking out. He fanned just 58 times over
two seasons in St. Louis while slashing .335/.401/.487.change. For the next two
seasons, Jefferies was arguably
the Cardinals’ most productive
player.
In 1993, he finished third in
the NL batting race (.342) and
set career highs with 16 homers,
83 RBIs and 46 stolen bases
(a record for a Cardinals first
baseman). He struck out just 32
times, ranked fifth in the NL
with a .408 on-base average and
was an All-Star for the first time.
In the 25 years since, only one
Cardinal – Albert Pujols – has
finished a season with a higher
batting average.
Jefferies made the All-Star
team again in ’94, slashing
.325/.391/.489 in the strike-
shortened season. He was
seventh in the league in hitting
and only Tony Gwynn bettered
his AB/SO ratio (15.1)
Then he was gone. A free
agent at 27, Jefferies took a
four-year, $20 million deal
with the Phillies, even though
he stated publicly his desire to
stay in St. Louis. Besides being
productive, he was popular,
too, affectionately known as
“Pugsley” (Addams Family) or “Little Elvis,” for his adulation of
Presley. But the club showed little interest in keeping him, removing
a contract offer it had extended earlier in the year (Jefferies initially
rejected it).
He still wishes things could have worked out differently.
“I wanted to end my career in St. Louis,” Jefferies told Cardinals
Magazine in May while in town for his first promotional appearance
for the club since his departure 24 years ago. “Unfortunately, it
didn’t work out. I truly loved it here.”
Jefferies batted .287 over four seasons in Philadelphia but never
rekindled the stretch of success he’d enjoyed with the Cardinals.
Philly traded him to the Angels in 1998, and he signed a two-year
deal with Detroit in 1999. Two months into the second year, on
Memorial Day, Jefferies blew out his left hamstring running out a
single. His career was over at age 32.
The sudden end proved so depressing that Jefferies says three
years passed before he could watch a baseball game again. Now 50,
the player known for his hard-charging style admits his injured leg
still bothers him, which is partly why he has declined invitations to
play in Cardinals fantasy camps.
He has, however, been invited to
manage in next January’s camp at
Jupiter, Fla.
And though he’s turned
down multiple opportunities to
coach professionally in order to
stay close to home in Southern
California, he is still connected to
baseball as a hitting instructor and
youth league coach.
Jefferies spoke with Cardinals
Magazine about his time with the
club and his take on today’s game.What fills your days circa 2018?
JEFFERIES: Golf, baseball
and family, though not necessarily
in that order. I coach my two
youngest boys, who are 10 and
9, in youth baseball, and I teach
hitting at the Office Sports
Academy (in Anaheim). I work
with professionals, college and
high school players. We moved
to Southern California from my
hometown, Pleasanton (Stephen
Piscotty’s lifelong home), about
five years ago. My two oldest kids
live in Newport Beach, so I get to
see them regularly, too.When you first stepped away from the game, what were your goals?
Have they changed?
JEFFERIES: It was a tailspin for me because I had to quit at 32.
I severed my left hamstring and they couldn’t repair it, so I didn’t get
to retire by choice. The offseason after I was injured, my manager in
Detroit, Phil Garner, called me to ask if I’d be his bench coach, but
I couldn’t do it because I hadn’t come to terms that I was done as a
player. To be told at 32 that you’re done was hard. How do you take
the place of major league baseball in your life? It’s really hard, but
you just have to. I lost myself in family. I lost myself in golf. But you
can never replace that big-league feeling.What do you like about today’s major league game?
JEFFERIES: Good question. It’s way different than in my day,
but these kids are tremendous athletes. Mike Trout, who is a modern
day Mickey Mantle, and Corey Seager are two I am fortunate to be
able to watch in Southern California. And there are guys like Bryce
Harper and Kris Bryant, and so many more. The game is full of great
athletes.CATCHING UP WITH...