Does Gary Sheffield belong in the Hall-of-Fame?
This is a complicated question and one that does not have an easy answer. The Iron Sheff is a borderline candidate with many compelling reasons to let him in. He, though, was also mired in some steroid allegations, which if these allegations are keeping some players out, should apply to him as well.
Let’s take a look at the Hall-of-Fame case for Gary Sheffield:
The Low Bar (or the Harold Baines Test):
Regular readers will know that my first test for any player to be included in the Hall-of-Fame is what I call the “Harold Baines Test.” In short, a player must have a lifetime WAR (Baseball-Reference) above that of Harold Baines. If the player’s lifetime WAR is below that of Baines, it is my opinion that he does not belong in the Hall-of-Fame. Ranked by WAR, Harold Baines comes in as the 552nd best player of all-time with a WAR of 38.7. This is the low bar. There are literally hundreds of players better than Baines who are not in the Hall-of-Fame. We have no business electing players who rank lower than Baines.
Sheffield blows away the Baines test. Sheffield’s WAR is 60.5. He ranks 179th All-Time in WAR.
Big Gary is off to a good start.
Awards, Honors, and the Like:
It seems logical to assume that a Hall-of-Fame player would have received a good deal of honors and awards during his playing days.
Gary Sheffield had his fair share here.
In nine different seasons, Gary Sheffield was an All-Star. That speaks to a lengthy period where he was seen as a premier player. Sheffield’s first All-Star season was 1992. His last was 2005.
Gary Sheffield never won an MVP, but he came close a few times. In 2004, he was second in the voting. On two other occasions (1992 and 2003) he was third in voting. In 1992, he was the Sporting News’ Baseball Player of the Year.
Sheffield won five Silver Slugger Awards.
Gary Sheffield led the league in batting (.330, 1992) once and On Base Percentage (.465, 1996) once. For a possible Hall-of-Famer, that seems a little light.
Milestones:
Once again, Gary Sheffield makes a compelling case. He exceed 500 homers (509 total). 500 homers is a big time (or, at least used to be) mark for inclusion in the Hall.
He had over 1,500 runs batted in (1,676). Again, 1,500 used to be a benchmark test.
He also had 2,689 hits. That’s not 3,000 (obviously), but it exceeds 2,500.
Sheffield’s lifetime triple slash line is .292/.393/.514. His lifetime OPS is .907.
Whew. The man could certainly hit.
A Mover :
One could argue that teams would try to keep a future Hall-of-Famer on the roster, but that wasn’t the case for Sheffield. Gary Sheffield was sometimes known as a difficult player. He did not have a sterling reputation. I’m not sure how much that matters, but it does say something that a player with his ability couldn’t seem to stick with any team for any length of time.
In his career, Gary Sheffield played for the Brewers, Padres, Marlins, Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Tigers, and Mets.
JAWS By Position:
By JAWS, Sheffield ranks as the 23rd greatest right fielder of all-time. One would think that with the numbers he produced in his career that he’d be ranked higher.
What also hurts Sheffield is that he’s not close to being the best right fielder who isn’t in the Hall-of-Fame. He ranks behind numerous players in this regard.
The highest ranked right fielder not yet enshrined is Larry Walker who is 10th. Shoeless Joe Jackson is 13th, but he’s not eligible for the Hall.
After Jackson, but still above Sheffield are: Dwight Evans (15), Reggie Smith (16), Ichiro Suzuki (17), Sammy Sosa (18), Bobby Abreu (20), and Bobby Bonds (22). Of those players, it seems that only Ichiro is a lock for the Hall-of-Fame. I also previously argued that Bobby Abreu (an nice player in his own right) doesn’t meet the standards for the Hall-of-Fame.
Most Similar Players:
Baseball Reference lists the ten most similar players to each MLB player for their career. This criteria seems to help Sheffield’s case.
Among the Hall-of-Famers most similar to Sheffield are: Chipper Jones, Mel Ott, Reggie Jackson, Ken Griffey, Jr., Mickey Mantle, Billy Williams, and Frank Robinson. That’s seven of the ten most similar that aren’t just Hall-of-Famers, but some are true greats of the game.
The three that are not in the Hall, all also have solid cases. These are Carlos Beltran (not yet eligible), Fred McGriff (who gets some support), and Miguel Cabrera (not yet eligible).
It is very possible that the ten players most similar to Gary Sheffield will one day all be in the Hall-of-Fame. If that’s the case, how do you keep him out?
Conclusion:
Gary Sheffield has a true mixed-bag case. In looking at some criteria, he seems like a Hall-of-Fame lock. Judging buy other criteria, his case seems weak.
Sheffield was a Yankee for three seasons (2004-2006). He was a fun player to watch play. Man, could he hit. I loved his swagger and the presence he was in the batters box. As a Yankee, Sheffield batted .291/76/269.
His case is compelling, but, alas!, I feel it’s just a bit light. Sheffield ends up in “very close, but not quite” category. I don’t think he merits inclusion in the Hall-of-Fame.
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