Thanks for compiling the stats. I guess it’s been so long since he played here, and so much has happened with the team since, that we almost forget that he was terrific here for a few years. I hadn’t even realized he played more years for us than anywhere else.

But I’d say there’s little-to-no chance he goes in as a Marlin. At the very least, I think he’d want to hitch his HOF wagon to either of the flagship franchises he played for, L.A. or New York. (Who wouldn’t want to be another Yankee HOFer alongside Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, et al.?) If I had to guess, it would be the Dodgers, which is where he really grew into national prominence.

Of course, I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion that he even makes the Hall in light of the BALCO admission. He’s not one of those guys who was ever recognized as being among the best in the game for a given period, or who racked up a lot of statistical titles, MVP awards or championships. Instead, he’s the kind who compiles impressive career statistics by being consistently very good over a long period of time, even past their prime. In other words, the Rafael Palmeiro type.

So if all you’ve got is that you were still putting up big numbers in your mid-30s when other players normally decline, and now that very same physical longetivity is suspect, I think a lot of voters will punish him for it.

That at one time, Sheff said he wouldn’t want to go into the Hall as a Marlins.
I believe his reasoning was that, even though he won a World Series championship here, he felt like it wasn’t a team, but a collection of “hired guns.”
That’s all from memory though, so take it with a grain of salt.

He might take a few tries to get in. The voters may see him as a Larry Walker and Edgar Martinez type hitter, good but not great hitter.

He played 6 years in Florida and won his only world series ring here. His best year as a Fish was 1996, but it wasn’t his best season.

Gary best career numbers came out of his years as a Dodger. The thing so many teams dislike Garry because of his mouth. When Gary Sheffield was brought up in his rookie year and was moved to SS. However the next year he in a position battle with Bill Spiers. Gary was then moved to third but criticized the Brewers by saying it was an issue of race. In 1990, it looked like the Brewers got the first round player they drafted, however he was still being a pain in the clubhouse, with his accusations of the Brewers being racist by having Bill Spiers as the teams starting shortstop and Gary at Third. Gary would play only 50 games with the Brewers with multiple injuries in 1991.

The Brewers then traded him to San Diego, where they would be unexpectedly traded to the newly expanded Florida Marlins (For future All-Time saves leader Trevor Hoffman) the same year he was traded for. After playing with the Fish for 5 years and earning a world series ring the Marlins traded him in 1998, claiming they could not afford a contract extension.

Having his best career numbers in LA didn’t stop Sheffield from firing his mouth. He began to lobby for a trade when he said the team was spending their money stupidly and publicly criticized coaches and teammates. Gary got his wish on January 15, 2002, when he was traded to the Braves.

Sheffield spent two years in Atlanta put up great numbers, where he would sign with the Yankees and became part of an All-Star lineup with the newly acquired Alex Rodriguez. He finished 2nd MVP votes in his first year with the team. After injuring himself in a collision, he was out until September, despite first trying to play with the wrist injury. When he came back he lost his right field job to Bobby Abreu (Who was traded for on the deadline) and started at first base. The Yankees would then trade him to the Tigers in 2007.

During an July 2007 interview with HBO’s Real Sports, Sheffield said that Yankees manager Joe Torre treated black players differently than white players during his time there. He also said that he thought that biracial Yankees player Derek Jeter wasn’t “all the way black.”

On September 19, 2008, Sheffield was hit by a pitch from Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona and walked to first base. When Carmona threw to first base, he and Sheffield exchanged words and Sheffield charged the mound leading to a bench-clearing brawl. Carmona was seen landing several punches to Sheffield’s head, which left him bloodied. Carmona and Sheffield were both ejected, along with Indians catcher Víctor Martínez and Tigers second baseman Plácido Polanco. Sheffield made statements after the suspension that the involved players from the Indians would be “penalized” by him as well.

So if he does get in, he might just in as a Marlin.

But ESPN has 2 of his 3 “best years” with the Marlins