Education of Jefferies a Difficult Experience

Gregg Jefferies has stopped fighting himself. The New York Mets rookie demonstrated that Wednesday night when he yanked Philadelphia Phillies reliever Roger McDowell, a former Met, off his feet and threw him to the ground.

Jefferies wound up with some puffiness on his face, but McDowell virtually gave the decision to his former teammate. “I don’t know what was going on,” McDowell said. “I was chewing on some grass.”

Phillies Manager Nick Leyva said the Mets wanted a piece of Jefferies, too. “There were 30 of our guys rooting for Roger and 20 of theirs rooting for him, too,” Leyva said. But that was not so. The Mets rushed to Jefferies’ side with aid and comfort, which had come sparingly in Jefferies’ rookie season. “There’s not a single player in here who won’t back him on that,” Tim Teufel said.

Of more lasting importance, the final six weeks of the season have brought a revival of Jefferies. He will finish the season with respect instead of regrets.

Manager Davey Johnson benched Jefferies July 31. The second baseman was hitting .228 with 4 home runs and 36 runs batted in. Replacement Keith Miller made the least of his chance to play second, and Jefferies was brought back Aug. 17. Since then he has become the Mets’ Mr. September, going 53 for 161 (.329) with seven doubles, seven homers, 18 RBI and eight stolen bases. With four games left, Jefferies is hitting .257 with 11 homers and 54 RBI.

“What it says is that I was not a total flop,” Jefferies said. “But I was a flop the first half.” The words did not come easily. Jefferies was nearly a unanimous preseason choice to win the Rookie of the Year Award. He felt the pressure, and this is what he said it felt like: “I would have had to hit 1.000, homer every time at-bat, hit 200 home runs and win a Gold Glove all in the same season. Needless to say, this was a learning experience.”

What turned it around for Jefferies? “I relaxed,” he said. That sounds simple, but it was not. He had media pressure and, more importantly, clubhouse pressure. He not only struggled with his game, but he also suffered from the isolation imposed by his teammates.

“Someday,” Jefferies said, “if I have a long career, I will sit down with a rookie and tell him what it was like on and off the field.”

“He was a chosen ballplayer,” batting instructor Bill Robinson said. “Everyone had him as Rookie of the Year before his first at-bat. I think failure made him a better player and better person. I think he salvaged the whole year, not just the second half.”

Next season the real ballplayer will emerge, Robinson said. “He can go in without all the accolades. He’s come of age. He has the tools to be a great hitter, but he’s not a great hitter yet. He’s a pretty good hitter. We’re talking about a baby, and it takes time.”

Growing up was not without pains, but Jefferies managed to handle them. This off-season will be different for him. When he returns home to California he will not immediately begin a regimen of swinging bats underwater in the family pool or working out eight hours a day. “No,” he said. “None of that. I need to go home and relax.

“I never felt I was a .260 hitter, but after the way things started I’ll take that this year.”