Keeping Gary Sheffield Out Of The Hall Of Fame Is Wrong

Gary Sheffield had a long, successful, and controversial 21-year career. The nine-time all-star would put up a career slash line of .292/.393/.514 with 509 home runs, 1,676 RBI, and an OPS of .907. He also won a World Series championship. Despite putting up all those amazing statistics, Sheffield still hasn’t been elected to the Hall of Fame. He is currently in his final year of eligibility on the Baseball Writers Association ballot. It would be wrong if the Baseball Writers Association didn’t elect him this year.

Sheffield Put Up Hall Of Fame Numbers

During his time in the big leagues, nobody was a more feared offensive force than Gary Sheffield. Blessed with quick swing speed, Sheffield wobbled his bat to a .292 batting average, 509 home runs, 1,676 RBI, 2,689 hits, slugged .514, and an OPS of .907. Despite being a power hitter, Sheffield amazingly never had a season where he struck out over 100 times. Sheffield finished his career with more walks than strikeouts. He was also a nine-time all-star, earned five Silver Slugger awards, and won a World Series championship.

The Steroid Argument Is No Longer Valid

When former commissioner Bud Selig found religion and decided to ban steroids, one of the players accused was Gary Sheffield. Upon being in the Mitchell Report, Sheffield even volunteered to do an interview. However, due to his attorney being unavailable, no interview was able to be scheduled before it was published. It was never proven that the Tampa Bay native used steroids. The only thing the writers are doing at this point is making accusations without proof.

The performance-enhancing drugs argument can no longer be used against Sheffield. Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell, Ivan Rodriguez, and David Ortiz were all accused of using steroids during their careers. Like Sheffield, it was never proven that all three of them tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Yet, despite the accusations, all three of them are immortalized in Cooperstown. Rodriguez and Ortiz were even elected on the first ballot. It should be noted that Sheffield has more home runs and RBI than Ivan Rodriguez and Jeff Bagwell. He’s even been an all-star more times than Bagwell as well.

Sheffield Had Success On Every Team He Was On

Due to being a lightning rod for controversy, the longest time Sheffield was on a team was five years. During his 21-year career, he played for eight different teams. This included the Brewers, Padres, Marlins, Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Tigers, and Mets. However, Sheffield was often successful on almost every team he played on. The Marlins, Braves, and Yankees all went to the postseason when Sheffield was in their line-ups. The Marlins even won their first World Series championship with Sheffield being a big contributor that year and in the playoffs.

The Writers Have Forgotten What The Hall of Fame Is About

Members of the Baseball Writers Association remind me of average high school students. Like teenagers, voters can be stubborn, hold grudges, dislike someone for no apparent reason, and make negative assumptions based on one instance. One thing that has been forgotten is a player should be inducted based on their performance on the field, not what they did off it or their personality. The tired old baseball writers seem to have forgotten about that. I don’t recall Hall of Famers like Ty Cobb, Eddie Murray, and Reggie Jackson having the friendliest personalities. However, all three of them had very accomplished careers and were big contributors to their team’s successes. Sheffield shouldn’t be treated any differently.

Gary Sheffield Was Way Better Then Most Of The Recent Inductees

Gary Sheffield was a way better player than a lot of baseball’s most recent Hall of Fame inductees. I bet if you were to ask them, they would all agree. Given that three players who were suspected of steroid use were inducted, this argument can no longer be used against Sheffield. It was never proven he used performance-enhancing drugs anyway. The nine-time all-star was a significant contributor on most of the teams he played for during his 21-year career. The Baseball Hall of Fame is all about what a player did on the field not off it. Sheffield is in his final year of eligibility on the writers ballot. Given all that Gary Sheffield accomplished, he is long overdue to be immortalized with the all-time greats.

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