Stanley Jefferson (born December 4, 1962) is a former

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

and Cincinnati Reds from to .Stan Jefferson
- Baseballbiography.com

Childhood and education

Jefferson, who grew up in

Co-Op City Co-op City (short for Cooperative City) is a cooperative housing development located in the northeast section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by Interstate 95 to the southwest, west, and north and the Hutchinson River ...

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

and played many years in the Co-Op City Little League, graduated from Harry S. Truman High School in 1980, and attended Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida from 1981 to 1983. He later obtained his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

at Mercy College in

Dobbs Ferry, New York Dobbs Ferry is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 10,875 according to the 2010 United States Census. In 2019, its population rose to an estimated 11,027. The village of Dobbs Ferry is located in, and is a p ...

.Coffey, Wayne
Former Met Stanley Jefferson struggles to cope with horror of life as 9/11 cop"
'' New York Daily News'', March 9, 2007. Accessed June 18, 2007.

Baseball career

Jefferson displayed impressive speed and agility and was selected by the New York Mets organization in the first round (20th pick overall) of the free agent draft on June 6, 1983.Stan Jefferson - Ultimate Met Database
/ref> After playing in the minors for three years, Jefferson played in 14 games for the Mets during the last month of the 1986 season before he was sent to the San Diego Padres in the nine-player Kevin McReynolds- Kevin Mitchell deal at the end of the year. Though he became a regular in the Padres outfield in 1987, he clashed with manager

Larry Bowa Lawrence Robert Bowa (born December 6, 1945) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB), who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. Bowa went on to mana ...

in May and spent much of the first half on the disabled list. Jefferson stole 33 bases and batted .230 that year. In 1988, Jefferson performed poorly, batting .144 over 111 at bats. At the end of the season he was traded with Jimmy Jones and

Lance McCullers Lance Graye McCullers Sr. (born March 8, 1964) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, and Texas R ...

to the New York Yankees for Jack Clark and

Pat Clements Patrick Brian Clements (born February 2, 1962) is a retired professional baseball player who played eight seasons for the California Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, and Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball ...

. He logged 12 at-bats with the Yankees before being traded to the Orioles in July 1989. For the next year and a half, he played intermittently for the Orioles, Indians, and Reds. Jefferson’s career ended in 1991 after suffering a career ending injury to his Achilles’ tendon. Jefferson later became a coach for the Pioneer League

Butte Copper Kings __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word meanin ...

. When the player's strike threatened the season, Jefferson became a much-maligned

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout, serving as a strikebreaker. Instances of replacement players Nati ...

for his original team, sharing the outfield with fellow ex-Met

Herm Winningham Herman Son Winningham (born December 1, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player. He played all or part of nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily as a center fielder, for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Cincinnat ...

NYPD career

In 1997, with his baseball career over, Jefferson joined the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

. He was on duty during the

September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, and worked at

Ground Zero In relation to nuclear explosions and other large bombs, ground zero (also called surface zero) is the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation. In the case of an explosion above the ground, ''ground zero'' is the point on the groun ...

after the collapse of the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

. He suffered health problems as a result of his time at Ground Zero, and retired from the NYPD in 2004.

Personal life

Jefferson lives in Florida. He has two grown daughters who live in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. During the peak of his career Jefferson shied away from the spotlight and preferred a private, low key profile. In 2016, in an interview on SNY, he reflected on his baseball career and his career as an NYPD officer, addressing his experience during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In 2018, Jefferson was recognized for his athletic and heroic contributions by Bethune-Cookman University and was inducted into their Hall of Fame alongside other accomplished alumni.

References

External links

Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Stan 1962 births Living people Major League Baseball center fielders New York Mets players San Diego Padres players New York Yankees players Baltimore Orioles players Cleveland Indians players Cincinnati Reds players African-American baseball players Major League Baseball replacement players Little Falls Mets players Lynchburg Mets players Jackson Mets players Bethune–Cookman Wildcats baseball players Tidewater Tides players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Columbus Clippers players Rochester Red Wings players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Nashville Sounds players Baseball players from New York City New York City Police Department officers People from Co-op City, Bronx Mercy College (New York) alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople