4 reasons Gary Sheffield belongs in the Hall

Time is running out for Gary Sheffield. The slugging outfielder, who played in MLB from 1988 to 2009, is in his 10th and final year of eligibility to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Sheffield was named on 55% of the ballots in the previous round of voting, a significant jump from 40.6% the prior year, but he must be included on 75% of ballots to make the Hall of Fame.

Of course, many of those voting against Sheffield aren’t overlooking his production. A big reason Sheffield remains well short of the Hall is his connection to performance-enhancing drugs, stemming from a period when he worked out with Barry Bonds after the 2001 season, although Sheffield claims he wasn't aware that the cream he used contained steroids. At the time, MLB did not test for steroids and did not implement suspensions for them until 2005. Sheffield's links to MLB's steroid era have no doubt affected his Hall of Fame candidacy, but among voters who are open to considering players with ties to PEDs, there is a very strong case to be made for him.

As Sheffield seeks to become a member of the 2024 Hall of Fame class before his eligibility runs out, here are four reasons he should be enshrined in Cooperstown, N.Y.

1) He was an elite hitter for a long time

Simply put, Sheffield’s raw batting numbers are elite. With a career .292/.393/.514 slash line across a lengthy 22-year career, few hitters were more prolific or efficient at the plate than Sheffield.

The slugger amassed 509 home runs, joining the elite 500 Club on April 17, 2009. Of the 24 Hall of Fame-eligible players ahead of Sheffield in career homers, only six are not currently in Cooperstown. Among players with 5,000 or more career plate appearances, Sheffield’s .907 career OPS ranks 55th all time. He is 19th in that category among players not in the Hall of Fame, although Mike Trout, Joey Votto, Albert Pujols, Bryce Harper and Paul Goldschmidt -- who all rank ahead of Sheffield -- are not yet eligible for induction.

A feared hitter from the right side, Sheffield was also notable for his plate discipline. He never struck out more than 83 times in a season (in 2023, 36 hitters struck out 150 times or more) and walked at a healthy 13.5% clip for his career. Among the 28 hitters in the 500 Club, only Ted Williams and Mel Ott struck out fewer times than Sheffield. When all was said and done, Sheffield ended up with more walks (1,475) than strikeouts (1,171) -- something few prolific Major League hitters can say.

2) He compiled plenty of awards and accolades

Not many players racked up the accolades like Sheffield, and those who did are nearly all Hall of Famers.

Only 71 players in AL/NL history can top Sheffield’s nine All-Star seasons. In a career that spanned three decades, Sheffield participated in the Midsummer Classic in 1992 and 1993 (both at third base), 1996, 1998-2000 and 2003-05. Of the Hall of Fame-eligible players with nine or more seasons on the All-Star roster, only nine (besides Sheffield) are not enshrined in Cooperstown.

Sheffield won five Silver Slugger Awards: three in the National League and two in the American League. He won his first Silver Slugger at third base for the Padres in 1992 at age 23, then secured the next in the outfield with the Marlins in 1996. Sheffield won three straight Silver Sluggers in the outfield from age 34-36, winning the award with the Braves in 2003 and with the Yankees in 2004 and 2005.

During his breakout 1992 season, Sheffield led the NL with a .330 batting average and finished third in NL MVP Award voting. He finished in the top 10 in MVP balloting five more times, including a third-place finish in 2003 and a second-place finish in ’04.

3) He’s a key figure in Marlins history

As good as Sheffield was during his lengthy career, his significance to the Marlins might be an even more important factor.

During his six years in South Florida, Sheffield posted a .288/.426/.543 slash line, hitting 122 homers, stealing 47 bases and driving in 380 runs. His .970 OPS as a Marlin is tops in franchise history among the 57 batters with 1,000 or more plate appearances with the club -- ahead of Miguel Cabrera (.929), Giancarlo Stanton (.914) and other talented hitters.

While Sheffield’s best year with the Marlins was 1996, when he hit 42 homers, stole 16 bases, posted an NL-best 1.090 OPS and somehow finished in a tie for sixth in NL MVP voting, his 1997 season was arguably more memorable. Sheffield hit .320 with three homers in the ’97 postseason as the Marlins won the World Series for the first time in just their fifth season as a franchise.

Although he spent time with eight different clubs, Sheffield -- if elected -- could very well be the first player to enter the Hall of Fame wearing a Marlins cap on his plaque. Even if he doesn’t hit the 75% threshold in 2024 voting, Sheffield had an undeniable impact on the Marlins organization and their fan base.

4) His WAR is Hall of Fame worthy

Sure, WAR isn’t everything. But it’s certainly a handy measure of a player’s career value, and Sheffield comes out favorably where WAR is concerned.

The slugger finished his 22-year career with 60.5 Baseball-Reference WAR, which ranks 19th among all right fielders. All of the top 13 are in the Hall, as is Dave Winfield (No. 17); Mookie Betts (No. 16) is likely on his way. Sheffield’s 38.0 bWAR across his seven-year peak -- a good measure of players’ value during their career-best seasons -- rank 27th at the position, ahead of Hall of Famers like Winfield, Enos Slaughter and Willie Keeler.

By sabermetrician Jay Jaffe’s JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score) system -- which uses a simple average of career WAR and seven-year peak WAR -- Sheffield’s score of 49.3 puts him 24th among right fielders all time. Twenty-eight players at this position are currently enshrined, but 13 of them have lower JAWS scores than Sheffield, including Ross Youngs (31.8 JAWS, 72nd among RF), Harold Baines (30.1, 76th) and Tommy McCarthy (17.6, 143rd).

Essentially, Sheffield was viewed as more valuable than many right fielders currently in the Hall of Fame, and he deserves to be enshrined along with them.