"It’s the steroid use that will keep Sheffield from ever being elected to the Hall of Fame. A look at his career shows a fairly common arc of performance up until his 30s. Then, for his age 30-36 seasons he posted remarkable power numbers, setting career highs in homers, extra-base hits, total bases, and slugging percentage. Like Bonds, Sheffield’s power surge in his 30s and into his late 30s is suspicious to say the least. His inclusion in the Mitchell Report should make it clear to anyone that he was cheating for several years. For that reason Sheffield should not be elected to the Hall of Fame, and he won’t be. Bonds, who was a far superior player to Sheffield whether they were juiced or not, has even gaudier numbers and the most support he’s received from the baseball writers is 36.2%. Mark McGwire hasn’t sniffed election either and Rafael Palmeiro (who had more than 3,000 hits) fell off the ballot completely because of his association with performance enhancing drugs.
Sheffield wasn’t well liked by the media or by many of his teammates. He was tolerated because he produced on the field, but he was often a cancer in the clubhouse and he never stayed in one spot long enough to gain a fan following (“Sheffs’ Hats” aside).
He may have looked like “The Natural” when he debuted as a 19-year old with the Brewers, but in the end too much of what Sheffield accomplished came about in “unnatural” ways." Quoted from Dan Holmes, vintagedetroit.com
Now I know what you'll be doing after leaving the Blue Jays. I wish you the very best. I have subscribed to Griff's the Pitch. Thanks for your friendship and assistance over the years, Rich!
I appreciate what you shared, but would be curious to know why not fill your ballot? Are there really not three other worthy candidates to include?
"It’s the steroid use that will keep Sheffield from ever being elected to the Hall of Fame. A look at his career shows a fairly common arc of performance up until his 30s. Then, for his age 30-36 seasons he posted remarkable power numbers, setting career highs in homers, extra-base hits, total bases, and slugging percentage. Like Bonds, Sheffield’s power surge in his 30s and into his late 30s is suspicious to say the least. His inclusion in the Mitchell Report should make it clear to anyone that he was cheating for several years. For that reason Sheffield should not be elected to the Hall of Fame, and he won’t be. Bonds, who was a far superior player to Sheffield whether they were juiced or not, has even gaudier numbers and the most support he’s received from the baseball writers is 36.2%. Mark McGwire hasn’t sniffed election either and Rafael Palmeiro (who had more than 3,000 hits) fell off the ballot completely because of his association with performance enhancing drugs.
Sheffield wasn’t well liked by the media or by many of his teammates. He was tolerated because he produced on the field, but he was often a cancer in the clubhouse and he never stayed in one spot long enough to gain a fan following (“Sheffs’ Hats” aside).
He may have looked like “The Natural” when he debuted as a 19-year old with the Brewers, but in the end too much of what Sheffield accomplished came about in “unnatural” ways." Quoted from Dan Holmes, vintagedetroit.com
Now I know what you'll be doing after leaving the Blue Jays. I wish you the very best. I have subscribed to Griff's the Pitch. Thanks for your friendship and assistance over the years, Rich!
Great ballot and commentary, Richard. I'm happy to be reading your work again.