Gary Sheffield has officially retired from the game.

 

He had career numbers of .292 avg, 509 HRs, and 1,676 RBIs....Places in the top 25 all-time in both HRs and RBIs.

 

Is he a HOF'er? If so, 1st ballot, or down the road?

My guess, if he does get in, is that it'll be down the road. I think his inclusion in the Mitchell Report will exclude him from being a 1st-timer.

It should exclude him from ever getting in if the voters hold true to form.

 

Yes, he should get in on the first vote.

Gary Shefield is the man. Started as a third baseman.

Do players that have been noted as PED users have a good track record for making it in?

I'd vote him in, and I think he eventually gets in.

Zero chance he gets in on the first ballot.

Zero chance he gets in on the first ballot.

 

Unless something changes zero chance he gets in period.

His connection w/ Barry Bonds and working out w/ him in the offseason will be a tough thing to shake.

Unless something changes zero chance he gets in period.

 

I'm sorry but I find it very hard to swallow the hard line being taken by the writers. If they were such purist and against PED's so much, where were the articles 10-12 years ago when it was so obvious they were becoming mainstream. Baseball as a whole, owners, players, writers, fans all got caught up and looked the other way and now the writers want to pass judgement from high. I don't buy it. Barry Bonds is a HOF'er if there has ever been one and was before he ever took PED's.

I don't think he will make it on the first ballot, but believe that he will eventually make it.

I'm sorry but I find it very hard to swallow the hard line being taken by the writers. If they were such purist and against PED's so much, where were the articles 10-12 years ago when it was so obvious they were becoming mainstream. Baseball as a whole, owners, players, writers, fans all got caught up and looked the other way and now the writers want to pass judgement from high. I don't buy it. Barry Bonds is a HOF'er if there has ever been one and was before he ever took PED's.

I actually agree. Of course I think the HOF is a joke.

Sad to say the steroid era will claim another victim here. Fair or not, his huge numbers will be seen as a result of being on the juice.

 

Great player, probably deserves to be in, but won't be getting in anytime soon. I posted a neat picture a long time ago in relation to steroids and their use, let me see if I can find it.

This is a Google news archive search. The papers you can choose from range from LA, Chicago, Miami, New York and so forth. It's a neat comparison when doing a simple search for the words "steroids and MLB" in articles during that time frame and "steroids and sports" in the same time frame.

 

While it's no secret that baseball had its head in the sand for a long time, it's frightening how far behind the curve they were. Judging by this, I would say the steroids era probably lasted from mid 80's up to the early part of last decade.

He doesn't get in.