Jefferson displayed impressive speed and agility and was selected by the New York Mets in the first round (20th pick overall) of the free agent draft on June 6, 1983.[3] After playing in the minors for three years, Jefferson played in 14 games for the Mets during the last month of the 1986 season.
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 to the New York Yankees for Jack Clark and Pat Clements. 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 Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, and Cincinnati Reds. Jefferson’s career ended in 1991 after suffering a career ending injury to his Achilles’ tendon.
In 1997, following his professional baseball career, Jefferson joined the New York City Police Department. He was on duty during the September 11 attacks, and worked at Ground Zero after the collapse of the World Trade Center. He suffered health problems as a result of his time at Ground Zero, and retired from the NYPD in 2004.[2]
Personal life
Jefferson lives in Florida and has two grown daughters who live in Virginia. 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 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.[2]