3 former NY Mets players who were overhyped by the team

2) Gregg Jefferies took a while to get Mets management to give up on him, but the love was lost from others very quickly

As much as Davey Johnson LOVED offensive players, and as much as Joe Frazier wanted Staiger, Johnson DIDN’T want Jefferies. Jefferies was going to be this super offensive player who could hit equally well from both sides of the plate, with power. And he was a shortstop too. Johnson loved to have offense at shortstop.

But Jefferies was quickly moved from shortstop because he was brutal there. So he was moved to third base. But the Mets had Howard Johnson at third base. So the Mets tried him in the outfield and he butchered every ball that came to him – it seemed that way anyway. So they stuck him at second base, displacing not one, but two fan favorites – Wally Backman and Tim Teufel. But not only were they FAN favorites, they were favorite teammates as well.

When you bring in an unwanted young player and displace two guys loved by their teammates, the veterans will make their displeasure known. And it was a debacle.

If that is what caused the failure of Jefferies in a Mets uniform is unproven. However, what IS proven is that Jefferies never emerged as the super impact player he was believed to be by the Mets, or even the magazine that put him on the cover as the Minor League Player of the Year for two consecutive years.

Jefferies would go on and be a “productive” player for the St. Louis Cardinals, after a short stint with the Kansas City Royals, but he certainly never became the player he was so hyped to be by the Mets.