Mike Jeffcoat

Note: This page discusses 1980s and 1990s pitcher and college coach Mike Jeffcoat. For the 1991 minor leaguer of the same name who also later coached college baseball, click here.

James Michael Jeffcoat

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 187 lb.
• School Louisiana Tech University
• High School Pine Bluff High School
• Debut August 21, 1983
• Final Game June 24, 1994
• Born August 3, 1959 in Pine Bluff, AR USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Mike Jeffcoat pitched in the major leagues from 1983, when he made his debut for the Cleveland Indians, until 1994, when he appeared in a few games for the Florida Marlins. He also appeared briefly with the San Francisco Giants in 1985, and spent the longest part of his career with the Texas Rangers, from 1987 to 1992. He was out of the major leagues altogether in both 1986 and 1993. He was the head coach at Texas Wesleyan University from 2002-2018.

In 2018, he made the news when the e-mail message he sent to a potential recruit from Colorado was made public. In the letter, he stated that the college had stopped recruiting players from that state because past players had had problems passing the school's drug tests as a result of Colorado's permissive laws related to the personal consumption of marijuana. He closed the message by stating: "You can thank your liberal politicians [for this outcome]." Observers expressed shock that a coach would assign blame for a political issue to a kid and the University quickly issued a statement disassociating itself from Jeffcoat's views, saying they did not reflect the values or practices of the school. The school added that it was launching an investigation into the matter. Jeffcoat was fired 18 games into the 2018 season.

Further Reading

• Tom Schad: "Coach rejects Colorado prospect due to state's marijuana laws: 'Thank your liberal politicians'", USA Today, February 28, 2018. [1]
• Q&A with Jeffcoat