112 CARDINALS MAGAZINE
What things are you not so fond of about
today’s game?
JEFFERIES: How strikeouts are
accepted like they’re just another out. They’re
not. If a runner’s on third base and you’re
down by a run with less than two outs and
your guy strikes out ... I’m not happy.
When I struck out, it was like I was totally
defeated by the pitcher. He had completely
beaten me, so go sit down. Strikeouts burned
our butts. Even guys who struck out a lot did
not like it. Now there are guys striking out
200 times. That’s a lot of baserunners left on.
When I had two strikes, I was never
defensive and didn’t want to just “put the
ball in play.” My dad taught me that my at-
bat was not over with two strikes. (Jefferies
never struck out more than 46 times in a
season and averaged just one strikeout every
17.45 plate appearances – the fourth-best
rate during his career from 1987-2000.)
What do you consider the primary differences
between today’s game and the version you
played?
JEFFERIES: As guys are getting stronger
and stronger, it’s become more of a power
game. Stealing bases, hitting and running –
they don’t matter anymore. And striking out
130 times doesn’t, either. When a lot of the
players today have their own hitting coaches,
I don’t know how you (reconcile) that.What is your defining moment as a Cardinal?
JEFFERIES: For me, just the general
feeling of affection I have for St. Louis. I was
walking around downtown (before he threw
out the ceremonial first pitch for the May 4
game vs. the Cubs), and I texted my mom
and dad and said I have such great memories
here. In my opinion, I had the greatest
manager in Joe Torre, I loved my teammates
and the fans were great.What was the best part of belonging to the
Cardinals organization? How was it different
from other clubs?
JEFFERIES: Where it was located,
really. The Midwest compared to the East
Coast is like night and day. I’m not saying
one is better than the other. Most people
know me from the Mets, and I owe a lot to
the Mets. The people in New York live and
die with their sports – not that St. Louis
doesn’t. But it’s different. The first time I
made an error in St. Louis, I was waiting for
every swear word and how terrible my mom
is and all I hear is, “Gregg, don’t worry aboutit.” I was like, “What is happening here?” It
was that way in Kansas City, too. Playing in
Philly and New York is just different than
playing in St. Louis.Who had the biggest impact on your
Cardinals career?
JEFFERIES: Ozzie Smith. Not many
people in this world can go by one name, but
Ozzie is one of them. That’s how special he
is. When I got traded to St. Louis, he was the
guy I really was excited about meeting and
playing alongside. From the time I arrived, he
was very welcoming and friendly. As great a
player as he was, he is a better person.Which former players have you stayed in
touch with?
JEFFERIES: Quite a few, including
Todd Zeile, Nick Punto, Chuck Finley, Trevor
Hoffman. We do a lot of golfing together.
Dusty Allen was a teammate in Detroit and
is my best friend. He lives in Las Vegas and
we play golf all the time. I’ll tell my wife,
“Honey, I have a meeting in Vegas.” She’ll
ask, “Why are you packing your clubs?” I’ll
say, “Oh, it’s a golf meeting.” I play five times
a week, but I don’t play on weekends because
of my kids’ games and stuff.CATCHING UP WITH...Jefferies had a burning love for all-things-Elvis (note the T-shirt under his BP jersey), but when Meat Loaf got all shook up
for the national anthem at the 1994 All-Star Game, Jefferies had a front-row view (alongside Barry Bonds and Tony Gwynn).