Random Topps Card of the Day: 1994 Topps #660 Gregg Jefferies

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Thursday, October 3, 2013:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1994 Topps #660.
• Player Name, position, team: Gregg Jefferies, first baseman, St. Louis Cardinals.
• Major League Debut: September 5, 1987.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1993 stats (Cardinals): 142 G, 544 AB, 89 R, 186 H, 24 2B, 3 3B, 15 HR, 83 RBI, 1 SB, .485 SLG, 62 BB, 32 SO, .342 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Drafted by the Mets #1st, June 1985. Traded by the Royals to the Cardinals 02/12/1993. Bats: both. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 15. This is his eighthTopps card.
• Blurb on the back: "So consistent was Gregg in 1993 that he never went more than two straight games without a hit. On 9-7, he had a 4-hit, 3-SB game.."
• Commentary: Quick! What's the first thing you think about when you hear the name Gregg Jefferies (I've always misspelled it Jeffries, only recently did I finally figure out that there is an third 'e' between the 'f' and 'r' in his name)? Come on. Okay, time's up. If you were a collector in the late 80's through early 90's, this was THE GUY! This was the player whose 1989 Topps Future Star card you wanted (probably along with that kid from Seattle...Junior something or other). This was the player who the Mets were hoping would bring them back to the promised land of the World Series just three years after their last title run. And it's not as if this guy turned out to be a dud of a player. He did have a nice five-season career in New York (in 465 games, he hit for a .276 average, with 42 home runs, 205 rbi's, and OBP/SLG/OPS percentages of .332/.416/.748). But apparently, he didn't turn out to be the wunderkind Mets fans were hoping for. So it was on December 11, 1991, that Jefferies, Kevin McReynolds, and Keith Miller were sent off to Kansas City in the deal that sent Bill Pecota and some Cy Young award winning pitcher named Bret Saberhagen to the Big Apple. After a decent season in KC, he was traded once again, this time across the Show Me State to St. Louis. Here is where he started hitting. In his first season with the Cardinals, he hit .342 with 16 homers and 83 rbi's. In 1994, he held his own with a .325 average, 12 home runs, 55 rbi's, and an OPS of .880. It was also in St. Louis that he earned spots onto the NL All-Star team. After a successful run under the Arch, Jefferies would go on to play in Philadelphia for four productive seasons. He was traded to the Angels in 1998, but injuries would start to take its toll. After two seasons with the Tigers in a bench capacity, he retired from baseball. He now runs a sports academy bearing his name in California. He finished his career with a cumulative .289 average, 126 home runs, 663 rbi's, and 196 stolen bases. But even though he will forever be linked with the Mets (as recent cards of him like his 2013 Topps Archives SP depict him in his glory days with New York) in the Hobby, he found a lot of success west of the Mississippi River.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.02-$0.10.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 27.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2012 Topps Update Series #US158. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Until tomorrow everybody.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama