Gary Sheffield had one of the most iconic batting stances in MLB history. It’s right up there with those of Kevin Youkilis and Ichiro Suzuki. But as great as his batting stance was, that’s not what will be fueling his Hall of Fame campaign. Based off numbers alone, Sheffield mounts a compelling case for induction.
Gary Sheffield Hall of Fame Profile
MVP Potential:
He broke into the league in 1988 at age nineteen and spent the next twenty-two seasons terrorizing pitchers. However, Sheffield took a little while to get going. His first good season came five years into his career, with the San Diego Padres in 1992. That year, he was crowned the NL batting champion after hitting .330 while launching thirty-three home runs and driving in 100 runs. That season, he also finished third in the MVP voting. He would go on to finish in the top-ten in the MVP vote six times, and finished in the top-three three times, including two runners-up finished.
A Consistent Bat:
Sheffield’s best assets were his ability to get on base and hit home runs. There was a stretch of nine consecutive seasons in which Sheffield recorded an OBP greater than .400. That was due in large part to the fact the drew more than eighty-five walks eight times and drew 100 or more walks four times. Over the span of his career, he drew 1,475 walks, good for twenty-first all-time.
His penchant for drawing walks means that he was getting on base, and players have to get on base to score runs. He scored 1,636 runs in his career, which puts him at thirty-eighth all-time. Sheffield’s career OBP is a whopping .393, the eighty-eighth best ever recorded. However, what’s more impressive is the fact that Sheffield, despite striking out 1,171 career times, never struck out more than eighty-three times in a season. While that ranking might not seem all that high, it puts him ahead of greats like Mike Schmidt, Tony Gwynn, and Frank Robinson.
There used to be a time when hitting 500 home runs made a player a lock for Cooperstown. That’s no longer the case due to PED allegations muddying the careers of some players. For what its worth, Sheffield was named in the infamous Mitchell Report
Sheffield undoubtedly possessed tremendous power, hitting 509 career home runs. He hit thirty or more home runs eight times and drove in 100 or more runs in all eight of those seasons. This power helped him capture five Silver Slugger Awards as an outfielder. Those are the only awards he won for doing anything outfield-related. His defense was admittedly pretty suspect, and certainly doesn’t help his case.
HoF Prognosis:
Yet Gary Sheffield’s numbers are probably right there among the best in the history of guys you forgot about. For his career he accrued 1,636 runs scored, 2,689 hits, 509 home runs, 1,676 runs batted in, and 253 stolen bases. What helps his care most, perhaps, is his slash line — .292/.393/.514. His career WAR is 60.3, higher than two potential first ballot Hall of Famers in Ichiro and Vladimir Guerrero.
It’s Sheffield’s consistency, not necessarily his dominance, that may propel him to Cooperstown.
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