Mike Jeffcoat is a former professional baseball player who played as a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for several teams. He was born on August 3, 1959, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and attended Louisiana Tech University, where he played college baseball.
Jeffcoat was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the first round of the 1980 MLB draft and made his MLB debut on September 6, 1983. He played for the Indians until 1987, when he was traded to the Texas Rangers. He played for the Rangers until 1991, when he was traded to the Florida Marlins, who were an expansion team at the time. Jeffcoat played for the Marlins for one season before being traded to the Colorado Rockies, where he played for two seasons before retiring in 1994.
During his MLB career, Jeffcoat had a record of 52 wins and 62 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 4.21. He pitched in 346 games, starting 123 of them, and recorded 16 saves. Jeffcoat was known for his control on the mound, as he walked only 2.3 batters per nine innings pitched, which was below the league average.
After retiring from playing, Jeffcoat became a coach and manager in minor league baseball. He served as a pitching coach for the Rangers' minor league teams from 1995 to 1997 before becoming the manager of the Charleston RiverDogs, a Class A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, in 1998. Jeffcoat managed the RiverDogs for two seasons before becoming the pitching coach for the Devil Rays' Triple-A team, the Durham Bulls, in 2000.
In 2002, Jeffcoat was hired as the head baseball coach at Texas Wesleyan University, where he coached for 16 seasons. During his tenure, he led the Rams to 12 conference championships and six appearances in the NAIA World Series. Jeffcoat was named the NAIA Coach of the Year in 2006 and was inducted into the Texas Wesleyan University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.
In 2018, Jeffcoat was fired from his position as the head baseball coach at Texas Wesleyan University after he sent an email to a high school prospect from Colorado, stating that the university would not recruit players from Colorado due to the state's legalization of marijuana. The email went viral, and Jeffcoat was criticized for his comments. He later apologized for the email and said that he regretted his actions.
Overall, Mike Jeffcoat had a successful baseball career as a player and coach. He played for several MLB teams and had a reputation for his control on the mound. After retiring from playing, he became a coach and manager in minor league baseball before becoming the head baseball coach at Texas Wesleyan University, where he had a successful tenure before being fired in 2018.
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