Gary Sheffield

Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who spent 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with eight different teams, from 1988 to 2009. After retiring as a player, he became a sports agent.

Sheffield primarily played right field, but also saw time in left field, at third base, shortstop, and a handful of games at first base. His career took him through the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets. The Brewers selected him sixth overall in the 1986 amateur draft out of Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Florida, where he had been a standout prep player.

A right-handed batter and thrower, Sheffield hit his 500th home run on April 17, 2009. At the time of his final game, he ranked second among active players in walks (1,475), third in runs (1,636), fourth in RBIs (1,676), fifth in hits (2,689) and home runs (509), and sixth in hit by pitches (135). He is the only player in MLB history to drive in 100 runs in a season for five different teams. His swing was described as a mix of savage speed and pinpoint control.

Despite his high home run totals, Sheffield struck out more than 80 times in only two seasons and finished among the all-time top 20 in walks. Sportswriter Joe Posnanski wrote, “I can’t imagine there has ever been a scarier hitter to face.” His first manager, Tom Trebelhorn, said, “Gary can turn on a 38-caliber bullet.”

Sheffield is the nephew of Dwight Gooden. After retiring, he began working as an agent; his clients include former reliever Jason Grilli. Sheffield was named in the Mitchell Report and implicated in the BALCO scandal regarding the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Sheffield was born in Tampa, Florida, and grew up in Belmont Heights, near the Ponce de Leon projects. He and his family lived with his uncle, Dwight Gooden, who later became an ace pitcher for the New York Mets. The two played baseball frequently, and Sheffield learned how to hit a fastball from Gooden, who is only four years older. He was a good hitter in Little League but struggled with his temper and attitude—issues that would persist in the majors.

Once, after being benched for arriving late to practice, Sheffield picked up a bat and chased his coach around the field, leading to a year-long suspension from the team. At age eleven, he was selected for the Belmont Heights Little League All-Stars, a team that included future Chicago Cubs first-round pick Ty Griffin, future major leaguer Derek Bell, and other future MLB players. That team reached the finals of the 1980 Little League World Series, losing 4–3 to Taiwan. Sheffield set a record for doubles in the tournament, a mark that stood until 2012.

Sheffield made the Hillsborough High School varsity baseball team in 1983. By his junior year, he had bulked up to 175 pounds and played pitcher and third baseman. During his senior year, his fastball reached the upper 80s, and he showed consistent home run power. As a batter, he hit .500 with 15 home runs in 62 official at-bats. At the end of the season, he was named Gatorade National Player of the Year.

The Milwaukee Brewers drafted Sheffield with the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 1986 MLB draft. Sheffield later said he would have played college baseball for the Miami Hurricanes if he hadn’t been a first-round pick. After signing, he played for the Helena Brewers of the Pioneer League, batting .365 with 71 RBIs in 57 games. His position was uncertain; he was slotted at shortstop but struggled with errors and wild throws. In 1987, he was assigned to Stockton of the Class-A California League, where his defense improved and he led the league in RBIs with 103. At year’s end, he was voted the Brewers’ best prospect. In his third season, he moved from Double-A to the majors, playing 134 games for the El Paso Diablos and Denver Zephyrs, batting .327 with 28 homers and 118 RBIs.

Sheffield was called up when rosters expanded in September 1988 and made his MLB debut on September 3. Still a teenager, he started fast—his first career hit was a home run off Mark Langston—but finished the season with a .238 average and four homers in 24 games. After mediocre play and injuries that cost him two months in the summer of 1989, he was moved from shortstop to third base, replaced by Bill Spiers. Sheffield said he was shocked by the move and criticized the team, also suggesting his race affected how he was received by players, management, and fans in Milwaukee. In his rookie season, he batted .247 with five homers and 32 RBIs. In 1990, working with new hitting coach Don Baylor, he hit .294 with 10 home runs. In his final season with the Brewers, injuries to his wrist, thumb, and shoulder limited him to 50 games.

On March 26, 1992, the Brewers traded Sheffield to the San Diego Padres for Ricky Bones, José Valentin, and Matt Mieske. He faced his uncle Dwight Gooden for the first time in a major league game on May 12, 1992, getting a hit in three at-bats. In his first All-Star season, Sheffield contended for the Triple Crown for much of the year, though he fell short in home runs (33, two fewer than teammate Fred McGriff) and RBIs (100, nine fewer than leader Darren Daulton).