Gary Sheffield has officially filed his retirement papers, according to George A. King III of the New York Post. After 22 seasons with the Marlins, Dodgers, Brewers, Yankees, Braves, Padres, Tigers and Mets, the 42-year-old is ready to retire. He says his numbers have earned him a shot a Cooperstown.
"I am sure it will be mentioned and debated, but from my standpoint I know who is in the Hall of Fame," Sheffield said. "A lot of them don't belong in the Hall of Fame. If someone wants to debate me, check the stats."
Sheffield posted a .292/.393/.514 line with 509 homers and 1676 RBI in the majors. The nine-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger recipient won a batting title and has a career OPS+ of 140. Sheffield came up as a shortstop before transitioning to third base and then the outfield. Sheffield, who earned about $168MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference, ranks 24th all-time in career home runs.
But the real question is, is he “all the way” retired?
He hasn’t played in over a year and isn’t fielding any offers…I’d say yes.
He also wasn’t doing much fielding when he was fielding.
Mmhmm…those days in Detroit when he manned left field made me want to run my 8-year-old brother out there…I’m positive he could cover more ground than Sheffield could.
If he’s filed and hasn’t played for a year and had the last season he had and hates the corporate side of the game as much as he does…yeah, he’s retired. But hey, steroids or not, he’s got one of the all time great careers, played on some amazing teams, stayed relevant much longer than most guys do. Kudos to him. Job well done. All that good stuff.
Right, if you ignore the racist comments against joe torre, and the roid usage, one of the best! Oh and the nonstop arrogant comments.
Guy was a moron, glad hes retiring but he will never be in the hall of fame.
I don’t believe what he accused Torre of is true but you can’t be called a racist just because you felt that some treated you poorly due to racism.
Would David Wright be a racist if he accused Minaya, years from now, of showing preferential treatment towards Latinos by giving them more money and more perks?WE may have our own opinions but can we dismiss it simply because we don’t agree? Would Wright be a racist because we may not agree? Of course not.
As for arrogance, please. These are athletes, some of the best of the best.MOST OF THEM reek of arrogance.
He constantly used his race as an excuse and had this “im black the white world hates me screw all you whities” attitude.
Oh, and calling latin american ball players easy to control is racist.
Didn’t he admit to using the cream for 1 summer, so all those 500 home runs resulted from 1 summer of creme. WOW!!!!
Wait theres more, how about when he said he was the best player on every team he played for
He will never be a hall of famer. He was too arrogant, racist, and used roids.
As for all time greats I wouldnt even put him in the top 30 over the past 20 years.
Arrogance and racism aren’t qualities you need to lack to get in. Pretty sure they would have banned Ty Cobb if that were the case.
But he never used roids, sorry if its not clear but those are 3 things that will keep you out all together đ Mostly the roids, I just threw in the racist and arrogant things to take him down a few more notches.
Actually, he did admit using a steroid cream. I’m not gonna post a link, but if you search “Gary Sheffied steroids” then that should come up with some things.
? I was talking about ty cobb never using roids. Sheffield never tested positive, but yea he did admit to using the cream for his knees right?
People need to get over the steroids thing. Do you honestly think nobody used it before recently??? Watch the Bob Costas special with Aaron and Mays, they all but admit they took them. Amphetamines work in much of the same way and were a problem for years.
Ok, go tell that to the hall of fame, which is my argument that he will not get in because of it. What point are you trying to make?
And probably because you are too
Lol really?
So by your measure a “violent, blatant racist” is ok if you can mash and didn’t use the “clear” ?
by the hall of fames measure….
Also the times were different in ty cobbs era, I dont agree with it but it was a completely different time in america.
Ty Cobb in today’s social climate wouldn’t last long in baseball, or at least I hope not. Michael Vick got a second chance, but he is a puppy dog compared to Ty Cobb. I don’t think Ty Cobb is someone anybody should look up to, I’m just saying his being elected to the hall was based on his achievements as a player back then, if the HOF just opened today I don’t see him getting votes.
Am I really the only one who caught “but he is a puppy dog…”?
At least in the case of Ty Cobb, a horrible human being, you can’t deny his ability to play at an incredibly high level at a time when it was harder to hit a baseball than it is now. If steroids were available to him then, who knows if he would have used them. Steroids can’t help you hit the ball, but it can help you hit it out, and Sheffield’s claim to to the HOF is largely based on his ability to hit it out.
You can’t ban a guy from the HOF if their steroid use wasn’t confirmed. Most of us figure he cheated, but speculation with probable intent isn’t enough to so much as accuse him of anything. Unless I’ve been under a rock for 5 years, I don’t recall any affirmative judgment made on his using drugs that were against MLB rules.
This is exactly why Jeff Bagwell didn’t make it in this year and may not make it in for another few years – doubt.
Do you really think being a bad person has kept other players with bad personalities out of the hall? I think not.
for players on the fence, and he is at best on the fence, yes I do. He used roids, although he never tested positive, so the three things combined will keep him out, mostly the roids though.
I agree for players on the fence, but having used steroids and being a despicable human being isn’t going to keep Barry Bonds or A-Rod out of the hall. So it’s really not an end all-be all argument against a player, but it can probably keep you out.
So I accidently like this lol.
I disagree, I think they will keep bonds out even though I think he should be in, but not sheffield. Rodriguez might get in but idk. I would put bonds in because before 1999 he was the only player in mlb history with 400 sb and 400 hrs. However I think the hall will tell him and all the other roiders to screw off.
Ricky Henderson got in, you could very easily come to the conclusion that he “juiced”
….really? He never admitted to it under a grand jury nor is he being indicted because of it. Sheffield did….Bonds is being indicted, A rod admitted to it.
Aside from the steroids, how is he on the fence? Because you don’t like him? Just look at guys in that 500-600hr range and he had better numbers than Murray, McCovey, Banks, Matthews, Schmidt, Jackson, etc
Though I don’t think he is a first ballot guy given the taint of steroids and numbers in comparison with other steroid era players, his offensive numbers would present a solid case for entry even with his semi-sub-par defensive numbers. I’d say it takes a few years but he will eventually make it in. He was a feared hitter in his day.
The roids put him on the fence, isnt that clear in my post?
Schmidt won gold gloves and mvps though , but i would have to agree if he never admitted using this guy would probably be first ballot
You defend the players too much. I think you feel that every fan is out to bash the players. I wouldn’t even wanna hear you talk about a Yankee you’ve probably written a book about that. Sheffield has a poor attitude and thinks he is one of the greatest around. His head is too big for his own good. Steroids or not, the roid thing still looms around him and always will especially after the “cream” incident. Manny is another example except he is just more of a clubhouse cancer. Not to mention that he is a joke of a defender and embarassment on the field. Dodgers got hosed by him and his antics, just like every other team he is on. Fact is, if your name and steroids have ever been mentioned in the same sentence, your chances of going to the hall of fame are greatly reduced. Sheffield’s simple big headed quote in this article is enough to decrease his chances. He thinks he deserves to be in the elite, when we all know he doesn’t have enough to get in. Go outside, play some catch or something.. you’re on here too much.
in the past, no, but these days, yes. Not sure if it’s fair or right, but there’s so much focus on ‘character’ now that Sheffield might be left out with some others, even as Ty Cobb and others got in.
Albert Belle
He changed teams 9 times. There’s a hint that he didn’t really get along with his teammates.
So did Fred McGriff (7x) and he was one of the nicest guys in baseball. Doesn’t prove anything. Barry Bonds is widely considered one of the biggest jerks and he only played for 2.
Maybe Sheffield can get some golf in this spring with Albert Belle and Carl Evertte
His swing was a true joy to watch.
Worst defensive player in the history of baseball lol. Also the only player to ever hit his 500th HR wearing a Mets uniform.
HOF or no? I say No until Palmeiro, McGwire and the others get in.
Plus I wonder if it’s just 1 big coincidence that the 9 worst defensive players of all time have played in the steroid era (1990 – present)
1. Gary Sheffield
2. Manny Ramirez
3. Bernie Williams
4. Ricky Guiterrez
5. Bobby Bonilla
6. Danny Tartabull
7. Adam Dunn
8. Juan Samuel
9. Derek Jeter
And Sheffield was the worst by a far margin over Manny
Sheffield -204.7, Manny -155.7
The difference between Sheffield and Manny is More than the difference between Manny (2nd) and Jeter (0th). Jeter is -113.4
Jeter and Williams, you need to stop using drugs
The -113.4 runs figure is based on UZR and other defensive metrics, calculated by FanGraphs. Many have called Jeter the most overrated defensive talent of his generation, and the numbers prove it.
If anything, the only drug mentionable here is a dose of “Reality,” available over the counter at your local pharamacy.
I remember back when we had simple stats, Errors, Hits, RBI, etc not ERZGWERW and ASDRWRC from such and such.
Don’t forget ERZGWERW/150 – I still don’t know what that means… (is it supposed to be a fraction?)
It means ERZGWERW over 150 games. If a players ERZGWERW is 5 in 10 games, it will be 75 ERZGWERW/150, attempting to project a player’s ERZGWERW throughout the season.
This upsets me, but also makes me laugh.
I like to think of it as Jeter selling enough paraphernalia were he just gets gold gloves sometimes. Sort of like a high end skeel ball tickets system where if he drinks a drink with the label facing a camera enough times they just give him points to redeem on the awards his talents could never give him.
LOL that’s why Jeter has how many gold gloves? It’s not like he won his first at 37 years old…..he’s been one of the best shortstops in the game since 95….put the crack pipe down
LOL @ you using Gold Gloves as your backup.
That wasn’t his opinion it was cold, hard numbers. Just because they are “True Yankees” and the NY media built them up to be super human does not mean it is true.
I only liked it because I thought he was being sarcastic. Maybe he is maybe he isn’t.
Didn’t you retire because you sucked?
I am not really Ellis Burks, I am just a fan of his. However, Ellis did have a positive WAR every year until his last in 2004 when he only played 11 games. He did not retire because he sucked. He retired because his knees were so banged up that he was injecting rooster combs into them in order to keep playing. Ellis had a career 48.1 WAR while Bernie Williams had a 47.8. Ellis 352 HR, Bernie 287 HR. Ellis .874 OPS, .Bernie 858 OPS. So if Ellis Burks did indeed retire because he sucked, then Bernie must have sucked even more.
Defensively, in a pure physically talented way I believe he is overrated, but he possesses great instincts which probably allowed him to make up for not having a ton of range. Great hands and arm though and very consistent.
Is that including his time as an infielder where he admitted to intentionally playing bad to be traded?
Yes I would assume so. It’s on FanGraphs. I can’t post the link, but if you want to see it, click Leaders > Career > Batters (should be on that automatically) > Value > Fielding.
When you click Fielding it should list the worst first. Of course if you click it a 2nd time, it will start with teh best fielders (Brooks Robinson is number 1)
I wouldn’t have suspected that about Williams, but isn’t it still a stretch to call him one of the worst defensive players of all time? He played CF. Maybe his bad career fielding values simply show he should have been in left.
I was actually surprised myself to see Bernie on the list. I knew he’d be in the negatives but I didn’t think it would be the 3rd worst. But I see from 1996 to the end of his career Bernie had at Least a -3.0 UZR in every year, 8 times he reached double digits and 7 of those 8 times he recahed -15 or worse, some including in the -20’s, yikes. Man did he get worse and worse (according to FanGraphs)
In the case of Bernie Williams, this is where sabermetrics can and are often misleading. Bernie’s negative numbers are due to the fact that he could not throw out anyone from anywhere at any time. Any ball hit into the gaps were usually doubles or triples because the batters knew that coming out of the batters box and always challanged Bernie to throw them out.
Williams was an above average ball hawk, using his speed to track down balls that most centerfielders could not, that’s why he spent his entire career in centerfield for the Yanks. Though it’s not considered an important award anymore, Williams has won multiple Gold Goves.What he could never do was throw.
Just like Jeter’s horrible fielding values show he shouldn’t be playing short? đ
He was good when he started but his knees let him down near the middle and should not have been playing CF.
Says the guy who couldn’t run down a fly ball if it hit him in the head….
Um…Ellis Burks was an elite outfielder for the first 2/3 of his career. Then knee injuries took thier toll and he was not very mobile. I know this. He knew this. He switched to right field when he went to San Francisco because he still had a great arm and Bonds was in left. That is what a player does when he can no longer field the position, he moves on. Bernie and The Yankess did not do this. Burks did.
I have to take some exception to those numbers. I’m not defending Jeter or Williams because they were/are both poor fielders for great parts of their careers. However, Field Values are listed as such.
Fielding – Fielding Runs Above Average based on UZR
Seeing as how UZR is a relatively new stats that is suppose to be heavily weighted on RangeRuns which is HUGELY dependent on “eyeball” observationsput into a formula then I don’t know how they would come up with Field Value for guys who played before 2000, let alone guys from 80’s and before. I would have to think that if that formula were true then there has to be a different criteria for the formula for a guy like Nap Lajoie (+83 Field Value, 1896-1916) vs Manny Ramirez (-157 Field Value).
I mean we know who is bad and who isn’t but how can anyone have an intelligent conversation about field value from guys who played 30 years ago let alone d@mn near 100 years ago when the metric value charachteristics have been refined and re-evaluated so much in the last 5 to 8 years.
Also, and it’s just my pet peeve, I have an extreme issue with hos UZR is used for IF’ers. We use it because ppl smarter than us say we should but a large portion of what influences UZR is based off of RangeRUns, which again, is hugely based off of someone watching a video and saying “he should of got that ball” and then using that determination and transfering it into a number that is then used in a formula. That finding seems to account for a huge value towards the UZR results.
That alone will keep him out of the hall. I guess he was honest through his speech at times but has no integrity as a player.
Edit- 9th for Jeter
LOL did you just call Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams two of the WORST defensive players of all time? What crack are you on? Seriously. Do you not see the range that Jeter STILL has? As far as Bernie goes, NOBODY covered center field in the 90’s and early 2000’s like Bernie Williams. Put the reefer down….
Yeah! I am with you Murphy. Just because everyone else in the world says that Bernie Williams covered less field in center than Eddie Gaedel and Jeter goes to his left worse than a statue of Honus Wagner, doesn’t mean it’s true. Let’s just deny the facts put in front of us until we die.
No HoF as long as they are keeping out steroid users. Plus he’s a jerk. Great hitter though.
I don’t think being a Jerk excludes you from the HOF. Steroids, well duh for now.
I didn’t mean that him being a jerk would exclude him for the HoF. They were two separate thoughts. He was a jerk though.
Should purposely playing bad exclude someone from HoF, though? Ask any Brewers fan about this guy and you’ll realize he has no place in Cooperstown.
Should purposely playing bad exclude someone from HoF, though? Ask any Brewers fan about this guy and you’ll realize he has no place in Cooperstown.
——-
Wouldn’t that exclude Manny also? Ask any Red Sox fan.
Well there is the fertility drugs as well so there is a taint (eh uh) to Manny as well. I love what he did to help the Sox win 2 WS titles but characterwise and defensively he goes down a couple notches.
Such humility.
I came here to post those same words.
Steroids or not, I very much enjoyed his problem free years in an Atlanta uniform
Sorry the Hall isn’t up to your standards, Sheff.
This could very well end up much more entertaining than listening to Goose and Blyleven complain every year about not getting in if the writers shut him out for a period of time.
I’m actually very surprised Bonds is ahead of Mays on the fielding list (187.7 to 185.0)
You don’t remember Bonds in his skinny Pittsburgh years? He was a great all around player and then decided to bulk up.
Yea, I remember after the knee surgeries in sf towards the end he couldnt even stop himself, that one time he just ran right into the wall with plenty of room for a normal person to stop.
Great player, reached post-season tons of times with different teams. I think he deserves to get in just because of that
Based on that criteria, Eric Hinske has a pretty good shot at the hall too.
Difference is Eric Hinske is a good player at best
Well that might be a stretch. How about very good 24th man on the roster.
Way to keep it classy, Gary. We have come to expect nothing less. Seriously, the ink was barely dry on your retirement papers and you’re already campaigning for the HOF? Just go away. No one misses you.
Sean Casey won’t ever get in because he’s the nicest guy in baseball. So Sheffield shouldn’t be out-casted because he’s an a$$.
Sean Casey won’t ever get in because he was merely slightly above average. He had one tool and that was hitting for average. He wouldn’t even make it into the Hall of Very Good.
65.8 career war, 509 HR, 1676 RBI. If he was a likable guy, no one would be slagging him for suggesting he is a HoFer. You don’t have to agree he is, but if you look past the personality, it’s a reasonable thing to debate. Not a laughable case AT ALL.
Numbers mean absolutely nothing when you are an admitted juicer. If you are going to argue for Sheff, why not Canseco? They both put up similar numbers…..around 40 less HR’s for Jose and about 20 less WAR in around 700 less games and 2000 less PA’s.
See how absurd the Sheff for the HOF talk is?
Canseco put up similar numbers to Sheffield?
Really?…Canseco had a .390 obp over his career?
I’m not saying Sheff is a HOF’er or not, but saying Sheff can’t get in if Canseco can’t is just asinine. Has baseball gotten so homer-centric that players are judged and grouped together solely based on the number of homeruns they have hit?
Never a class act, was occasionally horrible when I watched him…but he was always an exciting hitter nonetheless. Maybe if he hadn’t hurt his shoulder in 2007 things may have been different for him later on in his career. Enjoy sitting poolside, Sheffield, while your number of votes into the Hall of Fame dwindle to nothing as the years slowly fade away.
God, I hated that guy.
And no, I have nothing of value to add here. But man, did I hate Gary Sheffield. I really don’t think I’ve ever hated a sports figure more than I hated Gary Sheffield. I would rather be locked in a room overnight with Milton Bradley, Paris Hilton and that dude from MTV like ten years ago who always wore like six ties (Jessie something?) than sit with Gary Sheffield for ten minutes. No, I don’t know why I hate him so much, but boy do I hate him.
Sheffield must be honored to be praised by the likes of Gary Sheffield.
He wasn’t already retired?
sheff is not my favorite player. he forced me to loath him in his time in Los Angeles with his incessant carping in the press about $$$. That said, despite the ‘roids, he deserves in.
Why?
Because he was man enough to admit he used unlike a bunch of wishy-washy cowards that went up before congress with the false outrage before lying through their teeth only to get shown up with real proof a few years later (sheff still loses a few points for saying he ‘unknowingly’ took them thinking they were something else and didn’t know they were steroids until later).
The Clemens’, Palmeiro’s, McGwire’s, and Bonds’ are the type of player that form the ‘should not get entry’ pool of players from that era. Yes, my criteria is totally unfair, difficult to impossible to apply, and rewards some steroid users while refusing to reward most, but i think the level of hypocrisy separates the ‘semi-bad guys who owned up’ versus the ‘totally rotten guys that sold their soul and are unredeemable at this point based on how they reacted to the inquiry.
Sorry Gary, take a seat on the bench of the rejected along with Pete Rose, Raphael Palmerio and Mark McGwire. You’ll have company soon enough. Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens will be joining you soon. No one from the steroid era is going into the HOF. Darn moral clause…
No one from the steroid era is going into the HOF
——-
So no player within the past 10-20 years are going in? Despite some of them already being elected in such as the 3 R’s – Ripken, Ryan, Rickey?
YOu specifically said No one from this era, which includes nearly every active player.
You people on here take things so literal. Dont make yourself seem so stupid by saying “well….3 of them got in”. You know what he meant.
He very well could have meant what I said. What do you think this means- “No one from the steroid era is going into the HOF.”. I wasn’t aware that this doesn’t disqualify players that we “assume” did not use steroids, HGH, etc.
Maybe he could have been more clear and say “No steroid user is going into the HOF”. According to Canseco, this wouldn’t apply actually because he mentioned in an article about a year ago that baseball is going to have a big problem when they find out there is a HOFer who used steroids. Although he did not give a specific name. And we know, despite him being as big, if not much a bigger jerk than Sheffield, he hasn’t said one lie.
Not until the old school writers all die and the writers who grew up in the steroid era vote them all in. The current writers are all just made because these 90s guys put up such rediculous stats they made their childhood favorites look terrible. All the guys you listed will get in but maybe not until the 2030s
One of the biggest jerks to ever play this game. Good riddance.
Its a shame he’s retiring now, the Yankees were looking at his health records so he could join the 2011 (2002) squad
Albert Belle should be in the HOF (See Ralph KIner, Kirby Puckett). The guy was sick and until I see his name on a list of users then he should be in. His name NEVER came up in ANY of the steroid related inquries, investigations or testimony. He was a mean dude but that shouldn’t matter. If it did then take a bunch of other guys already in and get them out.
Thank you for leaving us with that comment, Gary.
Robin Yount can hardly wait until you are in the HOF with him.
“He said he couldn’t pitch”.
B.Cashman
to me this is a no brainer, he should def be a HOFer
Oh no. đ
Sometimes it hurts facing reality. The one we all enjoy everytime we turn a game on. But really, if Barry Bonds he was a white quarterback he’d still be employed in the NFL, so I do not believe Shef was a racist.
Numbers mean absolutely nothing when you are an admitted juicer. If you are going to argue for Sheff, why not Canseco? They both put up similar numbers…..around 40 less HR’s for Jose and about 20 less WAR in around 700 less games and 2000 less PA’s.
See how absurd the Sheff for the HOF talk is?
Without reading thru alla th’ comments – since this has been hashed out a kajillion times – here and on other countless boards:
Sheffield is a d-bag, and whatever respect I ~might~ have had for him went out the window when he ADMITTED HE DOGGED IT to get out of Milwaukee. FORGET about his career stats, and I don’t care if he used the cream or the juice or not… He’s a hosebag and a CHEAT.
Agreed. Hall of Famers don’t tank plays to get traded. I don’t know what’s worse, that he dogged it in Milwaukee, or that he admitted to doing it. The only way he should be able to get in is if they open a “Idiots, Jerks, and Disgraces” Wing. Albert Belle and John Rocker can be in the first class with him.
Actually dogging it is worse, and that is what should prevent him from getting in the HOF. While the admission won’t get any respect back for him, it only had repercussions for Sheffield. The dogging it cost 24 other people on the roster, and costing his backup playing time. That’s not to mention the countless number of fans pouring money into the team.
Gary, You havn’t played Major League Baseball since 2009 so two years out of the game at your age, your retired. Not to mention you probably did steroids, so you should bow out gracefully out of the media’s eye so the fans don’t have a circus of boring old PED news. That can be played over and over just take story and cross out the name of the guy from the PED story we most recently dealt with insert sheffield.
You guys don’t get it. You need 75% of the votes to get in, and at last count 35-40% of the voters have stated that they would never vote for a guy tied to steroids. So no chance.
Alright, which one of you guys is selling crack to Paul?
I realize now I shouldn’t have read any of these comments. I as a baseball fan in general have heard enough about steriods. First of all nothing was illegal until 2001 and second of all why is it anytime anyone hits over 15 hr’s in a season they are automatically on roids? You ‘baseball fans’ in my opinion need to chill out and have some respect for some of these players. Contrary to popular belief these days it is possible to work hard to get to the Majors and hit homers.
This is a guy who worked out with Barry B
and his BALCO cronies.
And, he was a “clubhouse cancer’ who wore out his welcome
in over a half dozen major cities.
I can think of many, clean, honest players who deserve to
be in the HOF way before this clown.
For example: Fred McGriff
when asked if he is a HOFer after 490+ HRs
McGriff replied matter of factly:
“My numbers are real, I didn’t cheat like so many others”.