Jeff Ledbetter (born December 25, 1959) is an American formerbaseball player who was named player of the year incollege baseball byBaseball America andSporting News in 1982. He played professionally in the minor leagues from 1982 to 1986.
After being drafted by theNew York Yankees in the 22nd round during the1978 Major League Baseball draft out ofLargo High School, Ledbetter planned to decline the offer and attend college.[1]
In season records, Ledbetter had the most RBIs for Florida State with 95 in 1981 and 124 in 1982. He was also the college's 1982 batting average season leader with a .381 average. For almost 40 years, Ledbetter has held multiple career records for Florida State with 97 home runs, 346 RBIs, and 704total bases.[2] As anNCAA Division I college baseball player, Ledbetter led the 1982 season with 273 total bases. In home runs, LedBetter set records in 1982 with 42 season home runs and 97 career home runs.[3]
He held both Division I home run records for three years until they were broken byPete Incaviglia in 1985.[4][5] Alternatively, Ledbetter continued to retain a three decade NCAA Division I career record in 2019 with 346 RBIs.[6] In 1980, he playedcollegiate summer baseball with theHyannis Mets of theCape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star.[7]
At the1982 Major League Baseball draft, Ledbetter was drafted by theBoston Red Sox in the first round.[8] He spent the 1982 season with theWinston-Salem Red Sox, where he struggled to start off his minor league career. In his first 50 games, he had a batting average of .207.[3] By the end of the season, he had a .238 batting average and sevenhome runs in 62 games. The following season, Ledbetter played for theWinter Haven Red Sox, where he had a .274 batting average and nine home runs in 99 games.[9]
In 1984, he spent the year with theNew Britain Red Sox in the Double-A affiliateEastern League, and hit .214 in 114 games. After the season ended, Ledbetter requested his release, which was granted, and signed with theSt. Louis Cardinals organization.[10] He split the season with theArkansas Travelers andSt. Petersburg Cardinals. His final professional baseball season was 1986, where he hit .180 in 27 games for Arkansas.[9]
In 1982, Ledbetter was named player of the year in college baseball byBaseball America andSporting News.[11][12] In 1991, Ledbetter was inducted into the Florida State University Hall of Fame.[2]
