I Love The 1990s Cardinals Part 21 - Gregg Jefferies

Gregg Jefferies was supposed to be a superstar caliber player for the New York Mets in the late 1980s.  The next great thing.  He was selected in the first round of the 1985 MLB, hit in the .330s at almost every stop in the Minors with power and speed.  As baseball card collectors, we all know the 1989 Gregg Jefferies cards.....

they are borderline legendary.

Well, except that Gregg Jefferies never really became the next big thing and he was never really a superstar either.  Barely even an All-Star.  He was a little bit immature, threw batting helmets, and pulled all sorts of interesting antics that did not really win him many fans.

Like the time he made the last out of a game against the Phillies, touched first, and then ran after the pitcher.

Jefferies was not really hitting like he was supposed to, so the Mets traded him the Royals for Bret Saberhagen.  He did not hit in Kansas City and the Royals traded him to the Cardinals for Felix Jose.  That's when Gregg Jefferies actually played like he was supposed to play in the late 1980s, only now it was 1993.  He was still only 25.  

Jefferies also still had a bit of a temper in St. Louis and still was one of the best helmet tossers in all of baseball.  

Let's review Gregg Jefferies time as a Cardinal.  

• Gregg Jefferies made two All-Star games during his career. 
• Gregg Jefferies made two All-Star games for the Cardinals in 1993 and 1994 
• Gregg Jefferies hit higher than .325 twice in his Major League career
• Gregg Jefferies hit over .325 in both seasons he played with the Cardinals 
• Gregg Jefferies received MVP votes in only two seasons during his career 
• Gregg Jefferies finished in the top 20 in MVP voting while playing for the Cardinals in 1993 and 1994 
• Gregg Jefferies had a career WAR of 19.4 in 14 seasons in Major League Baseball 
• Gregg Jefferies had a WAR of 7 in 2 seasons with the Cardinals 

I could go on.  

As a Cardinal, Gregg Jefferies hit for a high average, sprayed the ball all over the park, showed some pop, and even almost stole 50 bases (actually 46) in a season.  He was on a really young Cardinals team that finished towards the bottom of the standings, but Jefferies was a really good player.  

After the 1994 season, Jefferies cashed in on his two good years in St. Louis by signing a big contract with the Phillies.  He was not very good.  Perhaps his best highlight as a Phillie was getting drilled by Pedro Martinez to start this epic brawl.  

For two years Gregg Jefferies was a great baseball player.  It was all captured in baseball card form with Jefferies in a Cardinals uniform.  I definitely have some favorites here, so I am going to run through a few.  

I am putting a limit on it here, I could go further.  

 

First up is an oversized Upper Deck All-Star card from 1994.  Jefferies is wearing running shoes and the photo was taken during batting practice.  That's all nice stuff, but I like this card for the background probably more than I like it for being a Gregg Jefferies card.  This is the Busch Stadium that I grew up with.  The bright red seats, blue walls in the outfield, arches around the top of the stadium, and the astroturf.  You can even spot a little bit of the Arch, the 600 foot steel one next to the river, to the right of Jefferies in the arch at the top of stadium.  Just a sliver.  

A Studio card.  How 1990s is this card?  This card was apart of the Heritage Collection which featured a modern player wearing a throw back uniform.  This Jefferies card is nice, but I was always a little bit miffed by the choice of dates on the part of Studio.  The Cardinals have won a few World Series over the years, so if you were going to do this set, would you not pick a year the team won something?  1928?  The Cardinals lost in the World Series.  In 1926, they won the World Series.  

Studio should have split the difference and put Jefferies in a 1927 Cardinals uniform.  

Teams weren't shy about saying the won something back then.  Seems like Jefferies would be good in this uniform with World Champions stamped on the chest.  Still wouldn't beat the McGwire card in this set where he is wearing an old A's uniform with a pill box hat.  

Different Studio card.  

I really like the 1993 set.  The jerseys in the background are nice, unless your team has really bad uniforms.  Blue and orange Padres and teal Marlins come to mid.  I also like that Studio put a picture on the card of Jefferies with a blue batting helmet.  Just a really nice looking card.  

Last card.  

Another oversized card.  This is a Fleer Extra Bases card.  I like the pictures on the front, which are more or less a border to border design.  The font and the colors on the front are a little bit on the mediocre side, and the brand logo is horrible, but the overall card is excellent.  I like that the picture in in Busch and you get an action shot of Jefferies running.  

Maybe if Jefferies had been a Cardinals player a little bit longer, maybe some of these cards would be a little more meaningful to baseball card collectors outside of a few people who followed some pretty terrible teams from the mid 1990s.  

a 1993 song on my IPod.  You get Liz Phair.  Lo Fi Liz Phair, not polished pop song Liz Phair.