By Jordan Long
Outfielder Gary Sheffield finished his 9th year on the MLB Hall Of Fame ballot. His vote total ended at 55%. He needed 75%. Sheffield has one more year before he is removed from the ballot altogether. Players have 10 years to stay on. Sheffield, though, feels he is a Hall of Famer.
Sheffield played Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009. His stops include the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, L.A. Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets. In that time he collected 2,689 hits, 509 home runs, and 1,676 RBI’s. He was also a .292 hitter, not bad numbers.
Sheffield had also been voted into the All-Star Game 9 times. He also won one World Series in 1997 as part of the Florida Marlins. Sheffield took home 5 Silver Slugger awards.
The biggest problem with Sheffield is he played in the steroid era from 1994 to 2004. PED’s were not tested for and plenty of players used them. This made them stronger and they were able to drive the ball further. On October 6th, 2004, the L.A. Times stated Sheffield admitted, “BALCO provided him with vitamins and a substance known as “the cream,” which he thought was cortisone for surgical scars. He said he used it that season while playing for the Atlanta Braves”. Either way though, Sheffield was never tested for PED’s.
Sheffield’s numbers are pretty good. The problem is the voting process. The players in the steroid era who have even didn’t test positive are still being punished. Sheffield at least said he took substances but the fact of the matter is MLB didn’t test for it. It is always going to hurt him to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sheffield though believes he belongs there. According to CBSsports.com. Sheffield said, “I grew up in an era where they say these are the benchmarks, once you hit the benchmarks that’s what is it. All the things people want to put into play … It’s good to get all the facts straight and if you get all the facts straight you’ll see a lot of things you’re saying are not true.”
Sheffield has one more chance on the ballot. Baseball Writers may not change their minds. If that is the case, they have missed one of the top players to play in this game. Sheffield should get more consideration. If not, the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee could place him in Coopers Town. It’s still the waiting game for Sheffield.
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