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Gregg Jefferies, a KC Royals lottery ticket

The Royals placed a bet on Jefferies. Was it worth it?

By Patrick Glancy |
/ Focus On Sport/GettyImages
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I intended this to be another edition of KC Royals Immaculate Grid Cheat Codes, but other than playing for six different teams, Gregg Jefferies didn't tick a lot of the statistic milestones that make for a valuable Grid piece. Perhaps this goes a long way toward explaining Jefferies' much-maligned reputation. After all, here is a guy who was billed as the "next big thing," but few numbers on the back of his baseball card jump out. Reading too much into those numbers, however, would be a mistake.

So, who was Gregg Jefferies, really?

Gregg Jefferies: A "golden boy" long before he ever became a Royal

Jefferies was drafted by the New York Mets in the first round of the 1985 draft and immediately became baseball's next chosen one. The Mets won the 1986 World Series and Jefferies was advertised as the centerpiece for the next wave of prospects in what was supposed to be a dynasty in Queens. Card collectors expected his rookie card to finance their retirement.

It wasn't Jefferies fault the card market collapsed anymore than he was to blame for the Mets' implosion. Topps and their competitors printed way too many cards in the '80s and '90s, and the combustible Mets of that era were not built to be sustainable. But that doesn't mean Jefferies lived up to the hype in New York.

Jefferies struggled to carve out a role with the Mets until the team traded the less talented, but beloved second baseman Wally Backman, which didn't help his standing with the fans. He clashed with his teammates as well, many of whom were tired of hearing the unproven Jefferies' praises being sung in the press. He then made the questionable decision to call out his teammates' criticism in a letter sent to WFAN, a sports radio station in New York.

These antics, combined with his middling production at the plate, convinced the Mets to throw in the towel following the 1991 season.

Did the KC Royals trade for a bust or not?

December 11, 1991 is a date that lives in infamy for Royals fans of a certain age. On that date, the Royals sent arguably the best pitcher in franchise history, two-time Cy Young award winner and former World Series MVP Bret Saberhagen, along with utility infielder Bill Pecota, to the Mets for Jefferies, Kevin McReynolds, and Keith Miller.

Granted, Saberhagen never reached the same heights in his post-Royals days, and he struggled with injuries for the rest of his career, but he still had some very good seasons that outshone what the Royals received in return.

Miller was a throw-in. He stuck with Kansas City the longest, playing for the Royals through the 1995 season, but his impact was minimal. In four seasons with the club, he appeared in roughly the same amount of total games as Jefferies and McReynolds each played in their first season for the Royals.

McReynolds was the most established of the trio, and he was a solid left fielder for the Royals for the next two seasons. But that was also the catch with him. McReynolds was already at his ceiling, more or less, and no one expected him to make any great leaps. He was a perfectly serviceable everyday player and nothing more.

Jefferies, on the other hand, was the wild card in the deal. He was the lottery ticket who could singlehandedly make or break the Saberhagen deal. He had failed to break out in New York, but everyone knew his pedigree. The Royals hoped by getting him out of the pressure cooker of New York and providing him with a fresh start, Jefferies might finally tap into his full potential.

Unfortunately, it never happened. Jefferies manned third base and hit .285/.329/.404 with 10 home runs, 75 RBI, and 36 doubles. He always excelled at hitting doubles. This resulted in a .733 OPS and 103 OPS+. Hardly terrible, but not the game-changer the Royals were hoping for, as they went 72-90 and finished fifth in the AL West.

This is where it gets frustrating for KC Royals fans

After one season, the Royals came to the same conclusion as the Mets and decided to move on from Jefferies. They traded him to St. Louis for Félix José and Craig Wilson. José moved into right field and provided less offense than Jefferies, but his actual replacement at third, Gary Gaetti, proved to be a good acquisition and the Royals improved to 84-78.

Jefferies, however, broke out in St. Louis. He posted a 142 OPS+ in 1993 and a 130 OPS+ in 1994, earning the only two All-Star appearances of his career. If it bugged Royals fans to see Jefferies excel for their cross-state rivals, they surely took some pleasure when Jefferies parlayed his success for the Cardinals into a lucrative deal with the Phillies and bolted following the 1994 season.

He was a productive player in his four seasons in Philadelphia, but he never matched his St. Louis numbers. He finished his career with a season in Anaheim and two in Detroit. His final career statistics: .289/.344/.421, 126 home runs, 663 RBI, 1,593 hits, 761 runs, 300 doubles, .765 OPS, 107 OPS+, and 19.5 bWAR.

Those are very good numbers, but not Hall-of-Fame caliber by any means. Once a player receives the kind of hype Jefferies did, however, many fans will never be able to let it go. Some can't view him any other way, and he'll always be a bust in their eyes. Royals fans, on the other hand, would have simply liked to have seen a little more of him.

Kansas City's gamble on Jefferies never fully paid off.

More KC Royals history from Kings of Kauffman

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