BF: Hello Jeff, it's nice to speak with you.

JJ: Hello, thank you for taking the time, what would you like to talk about?

BF: Whatever moves you Jeff, let's just start, and see where this leads us.

JJ: OK, go ahead.

BF: Jeff, your career began with great promise, you were Gatorade's Player of the Year in Massachusetts.

JJ: Yep, my senior year we had a great team. We won state that year, and I wound up being interviewed by a few TV stations. That was a great time. I wanted to be a hockey player, which ended up getting me in shape to play baseball, then that took off for me.

BF: You were a first round draft pick...

JJ: Yes, Houston took me in the first round when I was eighteen, and I first reached the major leagues when I was 20.

BF: Both of those things are terrific accomplishments, and they show the huge potential you had, and the faith scouts had in your ability. You were a big, strong guy (Jeff is 6'8"), and you threw in the lower to mid 90s – exactly what scouts are always looking for. Once you reached the big leagues, you bounced around a lot...you pitched for eight teams in seven years. Why was that?

JJ: I always felt like teams treated me as a hired gun. They'd bring me in for one purpose, and then when that was done, they were done with me. None of the teams I pitched for ever committed to me as part of their plan, they just used me as a hired gun.

BF: Jeff, a lot of old stories talk about an attitude problem. I've read some quotes from Pedro Martinez and Jim Fregosi, talking about how you had huge talent, but your attitude held you back. I'm not here to judge you, I'd just like to hear your own response to that.

JJ: You know, with Fregosi, that's a case of the pot calling the kettle black...first of all, I was hurt the whole time I was with the Phillies, but I didn't say anything. I should've gone on the major league DL, but instead I was sent to the minors, and I took my medicine down there. The Phillies never really saw what I could do.

In Montreal, one time I had a bad game in Colorado, and afterwards, I was playing my guitar in the clubhouse. Felipe Alou told the press I was celebrating a loss. That's crazy, anyone who knew me knew I wanted to win...all I wanted to do was win.

The thing with Pedro was, one time we got into it in Houston, they hit about ten of our guys, and it ended up in a big brawl. Pedro was the only guy in the bullpen who didn't pitch in that game. After the game, Pedro was playing the song "Celebrate" by "Kool and the Gang." Do you remember that song?

BF: Yes, I do.

JJ: So Pedro is playing that song on the plane, and dancing around, I told him to turn it off. He said no, so I broke the CD player. It wasn't even his CD player, it was FP Santangelo's. Pedro looked at me and said, "If that was my CD player, I'd break it over your head", I looked at him and said, "Little Man, you'll never break anything over my head." That was it for me in Montreal, they traded me to Cleveland.

Thanks for asking me about that, Todd, no one's ever let me tell that story.

BF: You're welcome Jeff, thanks for being so open about it. How did things go in Cleveland?

JJ: I reached my second major goal with the Indians. The first was to pitch in the major leagues, and the second was to pitch in the World Series – I got to do that with Cleveland in 1997.

BF: After Cleveland came your time with the Brewers. Did you like it in Milwaukee?

JJ: The people in Milwaukee were very friendly to me, that's a great city. People acted like they'd known me for twenty years, they welcomed me right in.

BF: You were a Brewer for most of the 1998 season, but again, a short stay. What happened?

JJ: I was doing my best, trying to win every time out, and then before one start Phil Garner told me not to hit anybody. I never hit anybody intentionally, but it was like he put it in my mind. That was the first time any manager ever told me not to hit anyone - I was out there trying not to hit someone, instead of just doing my thing...and sure enough, I hit a guy. I don't remember who the batter was anymore, but that was that. I called Phil at his house twice to try to explain that I didn't mean to hit anyone.

I walked into the clubhouse and Fred Stanley said, "I think we traded you."

That's how I wound up in Anaheim, the Angels were in a pennant race and they needed an arm, like the other places, they used me until the job was done, and then I was gone from there too.

BF: Jeff, maybe instead of having a bad attitude, maybe you just approached things differently than most people do...maybe you were just hard to understand. I know your sister died of cancer when you were a boy.

JJ: Yep, Kim is always in my heart, she's a lifelong inspiration. That was really hard on me, it took me years to stop asking why and just accept the man upstairs into my life. I finally did that when I was fourteen, up until then I was just mad.

I have another sister now, Lisa. My mom was full of grief after Kim died, so she went to see a priest, he told her the best way to deal with the loss was to have another one, so they did, and we all love Lisa...sometimes things just happen...we all loved Kim while she was here, and we all love Lisa now.

BF: What was the lasting impact of having to live through that?

JJ: I just stopped worrying about things.

BF: That reminds me, I remember the Brewers' TV announcers telling a story when you were here; the team plane hit some bad air and started bouncing around, some of the guys started to panic, and there you sat, playing "Riders on the Storm" on your guitar. Is that a true story?

JJ: Yes, that happened. See, that's it, some guys never got comfortable with flying, I just figured, if it's your time, it's your time, you might as well enjoy the ride.

BF: That's understandable - you were forced to face a harsh reality at a young age. Do you think that approach to life hurt your career at all?

JJ: I can't say I have any regrets, I filled my two main goals as a player, but I never took the easy road. I never thought about money or the future, I just took the ball and tried to win. I could have made things a lot easier on myself.

BF: You hit a home run in the major leagues, do you remember that game?

JJ: Oh yeah, that was great, thanks for asking about it. I was with the Phillies, and it was my mother's birthday, I told her I was going to win the game for her. We were facing the Dodgers with Hideo Nomo, it was his rookie year, when he had the huge entourage following him. Everything went right, I hit a grand slam, I pitched a complete game, and we won, 17-4.

The best part of the story was, it was the home run inning. I won $10,000 for a lady who had four sons, and had just lost her husband. She told me she was washing the dishes, and her son heard her name for the home run inning and got all excited, then they were like, "Oh, it's just the pitcher"...then I hit it out. That was really cool, helping someone out like that.

BF: What are you doing now?

JJ: I'm getting into coaching. I got to coach the Hannibal Cavemen, in the Prospect League, and I just loved it. I want to coach, that's for certain.

BF: I know you're in a band...

JJ: Yep, "Jeff Juden and The Nuke 14 Band", I've played with a couple of the guys for ten years, and there are a couple of new players. We're a bunch of fishing buddies from Fort Lauderdale who like to jam in a warehouse. We've got a fan page on Facebook.

BF: What type of music do you play?

JJ: It's a mix of styles, I guess I'd call it rock. It's fun for me, I want to be a rock star, and I like autographing the t-shirts.

BF: What are your main goals in life now?

JJ: I want to be a good father, and be there for my kids. I have two sons, who are six and seven, I'm separated from their mother, so I just want to make sure I'm there for them...that matters most to me now...my kids, and being a good father.

BF: Jeff, thank you for talking to me today. You sound like a guy who's doing ok.

JJ: Oh, I'm doing. One day at a time, Todd, one day at a time. Take care, call me again if you need anything.

BF: Thanks Jeff, I'll do that.