114 CARDINALS MAGAZINE
If you could get a second chance at redoing something or some
moment, what would it be?
JEFFERIES: You know the saying, smell the roses. Well, I wish
I would have smelled the roses more instead of always trying to be
that grinder. I was so concerned about playing well and winning,
I didn’t step back and recognize I’m one of the fortunate ones to
get to play for a living. I wish I had. You could still play hard all the
time, but I’d take games home and be in bad moods. I was talking
with Paul DeJong, who played one summer with my son Jake, and
the first thing I told Paul was, enjoy every moment of this. I wish
I would have appreciated what I was doing more than I did.
If you could call one player in the game today, who would it be and
what would you tell him?
JEFFERIES: I would tell Mike Trout to keep doing what he’s
doing. He is such a tremendous representative of the game. The
way he plays, the way he holds himself on and off the field. When
I played, Derek Jeter was the guy. You loved what he did on and off
the field. Mike is the same way. He’s a guy all young players should
pattern themselves after.
Apart from doing something like this, do you ever reflect on your
career?
JEFFERIES: From time to time. But when I do, it’s not about
how good a career I had or anything like that. I wanted so much
more. It’s more like, “What if I had stayed healthy?” I wanted to
play till I was 40, and I was done at 32. I feel like I left a lot out
there. It was hard, but it is what it is.What is your most treasured baseball memento?
JEFFERIES: The ball from my first hit (a single on Sept. 8,
1987, in his second big-league at-bat). You work all your life to get
to the majors, and then to get your first hit, you don’t forget that.
I have some of my special stuff on display, and that ball is certainly
part of it.What advice would you give to a young player trying to stick in the
major leagues?
JEFFERIES: Stay healthy, try not to get outworked and enjoy
every minute you’re in the big leagues. You never know what’s going
to happen in this game, so enjoy every single moment.CATCHING UP WITH...