Thursday, April 30, 1998 | 8:44 a.m.
NEW YORK -- Stanley Jefferson, former Las Vegas Star and outfielder for the New York Mets and Yankees, is preparing to patrol city streets as a police officer.
"My mother thinks this is a phase, but she thought baseball was a phase, too," Jefferson, scheduled to graduate from the New York City Police Academy on June 29, told the Daily News on Wednesday.
Jefferson, 35, who hit .216 with 16 homers, 67 RBIs and 60 steals in six seasons with the Mets, San Diego, Yankees, Baltimore, Cleveland and Cincinnati, said he is realizing a childhood dream.
"I was 13 years old, my family was driving to Canada and my father was pulled over for speeding by a state trooper," Jefferson said. "He was so crisp-looking, polite and professional the way he took charge. I can still see him now clear as day. My father was not too happy with him, but from that day on I wanted to be a law enforcement officer.
"I want to make a difference in young people and bridge the gap between young people and police. Hitting a home run of (Roger) Clemens is nothing compared to this."
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