Sheffield comes up short in final year on Hall ballot
One of the game’s most feared right-handed hitters has failed to earn induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
After 10 tries on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot, Gary Sheffield fell short of election in his final year of eligibility. Candidates have to receive votes on at least 75% of ballots.
Sheffield, a former Yankee, finished with 63.9%. Rangers star Adrián Beltré (95.1%) Rockies great Todd Helton (79.7%) and Twins favorite Joe Mauer (76.1%) all earned induction. Beltré and Mauer were on the ballot for the first time, while Helton appeared for a sixth time.
Former Mets and Astros closer Billy Wagner received 73.8% on his ninth try.
A polarizing player, Sheffield spent 22 seasons in the majors from 1988-2009, suiting up for the Brewers, Padres, Marlins, Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Tigers and Mets.
The bat-wagging outfielder had a fan in George Steinbrenner, and he joined the Yankees before the 2004 season. Sheffield spent three years in pinstripes, hitting .291 with 76 home runs and 269 RBI while earning two All-Star nods.
Sheffield, who played with the Marlins more than anyone else, finished his career with a World Series championship (1997), 509 homers, 2,689 hits, 1,676 RBI, a .292 average, five Silver Sluggers, nine All-Star appearances and one batting title.
However, performance-enhancing drug allegations have prevented Sheffield — and others of his era — from getting into the Hall of Fame. Sheffield, whose name appeared in the Mitchell Report, recently told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale that he used a substance known as “the cream” once while training with Barry Bonds.
Sheffield said that a trainer gave him the substance after stitches from a recent surgery broke open. It didn’t occur to him that the cream may have contained steroids.
“I didn’t know what it was,’’ claimed Sheffield, who went on a media tour prior to Tuesday’s Hall of Fame announcement. “I just cared about all of this blood pouring out of my leg. The next time the question came up, I was testifying about Barry Bonds.
“I used it once. That was it. I didn’t know what it was. If anybody says otherwise, they’re lying.’’
Despite his ties to PEDs, Sheffield came closer than other candidates with stronger connections to cheating. Two other former Yankees, Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Beltrán, finished with 34.8% and 57.1%, respectively. Rodriguez nearly hit 700 home runs, but he also served a 162-game suspension for his ties to Biogenesis, an anti-aging clinic that supplied PEDs. Beltrán was implicated in the Astros’ trash-can-banging scheme.
As for other former Yankees, Andruw Jones received 61.6% of the vote, while Bobby Abreu received 14.8%. Andy Pettitte, who admitted to using HGH but was a lesser candidate than other PED users, finished with 13.5%.
Bartolo Colón ended up with 1.3%, while Matt Holliday finished with 1%.
Candidates must appear on 5% of the ballots to remain eligible the following year. Sheffield was the only candidate on his 10th and final try.