Gary Sheffield is widely known for being a ferocious hitter with such a deadly swing that one former manager said “Gary could turn on a .38 bullet”. Unfortunately he is also known for his hot head temper and fiery antics on the field and reported arguments behind the scenes. What lies beneath however is easily one of the scariest hitters in MLB history. With a combination of ridiculous bat speed and pinpoint accuracy with the bat head, Sheffield put up consistent outstanding numbers at the plate and defensively, impressed many with his rocket arm strength and speed. I am going to provide an overview of his career and background including some wildly impressive numbers from his MLB career that should in my mind, easily put Gary Sheffield in the Baseball Hall Of Fame despite the rumors and negative B.S surrounding PED speculation. First let us take at how Sheffield became the player he was and developed into one of the most underrated players of our time.
From a young age, Sheffield was destined for greatness. He grew up in Tampa, Florida living in the same house as his uncle, another future MLB standout player, Dwight Gooden. Sheffield credits learning how to hit a fastball from growing up and hitting off Gooden. He attended Hillsborough High in Tampa and by his senior year he had bulked up and became a standout 2-way player. His fastball had reached the upper 80’s but at the plate is where he shined. In just 67 regular season at bats, Sheffield batted .500 and hit 15 homeruns! Gatorade had no choice but to name him their High School National Player Of The Year. He entered the draft and said notably if he did not get picked in the first round, he would opt to attend the University Of Miami to play baseball. However he did not need to worry about that because he was picked 6th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Sheffield absolutely tore up the minor leagues. In just his 2nd season in the minors, he did not quite reach a .300 batting average but he led Class A in RBI’s and was named the #1 prospect in the Brewers system. By the end of season 3, Sheffield would find his way into the majors. His entire Double A and Triple A season that year, he combined for a .327 batting average hitting 28 homeruns with 118 runs knocked in. He was more than ready to take the MLB by storm and that is exactly what he did after a rocky at best start with Milwaukee. Sheffield’s first at bat with the Brewers was a successful one ending with a long home run. From there on out however, his relationship with the Brewers was tumultuous at best between losing his starting shortstop job to Bill Spiers and many injuries that hindered the amount of time he spent on the field. There was definite tension between Gary and the Brewers but there is no way I can comment on that relationship. I know what was reported in the papers way back when and I know what has been said since but still I cannot speak on the claims of racism or other issues without speaking to either side myself. I do know that the relationship severed abruptly with a trade to the San Diego Padres.
Sheffield shined in 1992, his first season with the Padres, becoming an instant triple crown contender that season. Sheffield belted 33 homers, knocked in 100 runs and won the NL batting title, hitting .330. He had a fantastic first half to the 1993 season with San Diego as well but mid season he would be dealt to the Florida Marlins. Not such a bad trade for the Padres who picked up One of the best closers in history, Trevor Hoffman in the deal. Having been a 3rd baseman pretty much this whole journey in the majors so far, Sheffield would move from 3rd base to right field with Florida where he absolutely thrived having a bullet for an arm and laser like accuracy. At the plate, he exploded having a tremendous 4 years with them, blasting 112 home runs. In 1996 he hit 42 out of the park and in 1997, helped Florida win a World Series title over the Cleveland Indians. Gary Sheffield had emerged of one of the games top players and being in such a small market, Florida had no choice to trade him knowing full well they would lose him for nothing in Free Agency. They did just that, trading him to the Dodgers in May of the 1998 season.
Sheffield again found success, something he would do no matter where he went in his playing career, especially at the plate. He would be with the Dodgers for 3 more seasons until 2002. During his tenure with the Dodgers, Sheffield was a 3-time All Star, hit 129 homeruns and drove in 367. He again became rooted in a public war of words in the tabloids with LA’s management, criticizing them for not spending money wisely and going in a bad direction. Subsequently, Gary was traded again, this time to the Atlanta Braves. He spent 2 seasons there and again was a force to be reckoned with in the batter’s box. He hit 62 homers and knocked in 216 RBI’s in just 2 seasons, setting himself up for a very profitable contract via Free Agency. It was the first time in his career thus far that he would hit the open market.
He was signed by the free spending Yankees in free agency to a lucrative 39 million dollar deal. The Yankees seemed to be getting their money’s worth the first season as Sheffield finished 2nd in the AL MVP race. He hit .290 with 36 homers and 121 runs batted in in his first season with New York. He again had a stellar year at the plate the next season belting over 30 homers again but in 2006 he sustained an injury that would see him lose his starting job as well as spot on the Yankees altogether. He was traded to Detroit and still produced at a considerably high level but was released by Detroit after the 2009 season sitting on 499 career round trippers. He was picked up by the New York Mets and became the 1st player in their Team history to hit his 500th career homer while with them. Although he was determined to keep playing, Sheffield retired from baseball prior to the 2011 season after sitting out all of 2010 with an injury.
When all is said and done, Gary Sheffield is a Hall Of Famer in every sense of the word. I do not give any weight to empty accusations of steroid use, even though Gary was named in The Mitchell Report, there was no proof of anything besides some hearsay that cannot be trusted. Sheffield hit 509 career home runs, over 2,600 hits and over 1,600 runs batted in. As a kid I loved watching him play. His bat speed when he would get a pitch right in his wheelhouse was absolutely astonishing. I remember the running joke in baseball was to stand 20 extra feet back when Sheffield was up to bat so he didn’t take your head off pulling it down the line. The fact that he is not a hall of famer is a joke. There of plenty of other names being snubbed too, but Sheffield may be the biggest. This was easily one of my favorite pieces to write because not only did I enjoy watching Sheffield play growing up, but his career is genuinely one to get excited over! No matter where he went, he produced at an extremely high level. He obviously had some well documented issues with management in a few places but who doesn’t have a spat with their boss every once and a while? I also believe he is not in the Hall because of his relationship with writers. I cannot say I don’t blame the guy. After years of being ripped and misquoted in the tabloids, I would probably stop speaking to them too considering the papers cost him his job once or maybe twice. Maybe it is time to start getting some new writers who do not hold grudges in on the voting? What do you say Cooperstown, I’m available!
To The Rack With Mac 