(M)ost (V)aliant (P)layer

Yankees right-fielder has earned his pinstripes and more




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
September 22, 2004

It is always difficult for someone to admit when they’re wrong. It’s not something we like to do. But, as of today, I am doing just that. I am admitting I was very wrong about Gary Sheffield. I was wrong about him becoming a Yankee. I was wrong about him as a teammate and I was wrong about him as a person.

Back in the off-season when it became apparent the face and make up of the Yankees was going to dramatically change Gary Sheffield’s name popped up as one of the guys the Bombers were looking at to fill the void in right field. Gary Sheffield? You mean the same Gary Sheffield who’s had reported problems everywhere he’s played? What about that other guy from Montreal? You know Vladimir Guerrero? That’s the guy the Yankees needed to go after.

Sheffield, although a very talented player, is in his mid-thirties. Guerrero is only 27. Both have power. Both hit for average and both have great arms. The Yankees needed to get younger not older. So, why Sheffield? I just didn’t understand at the time. Now I do. However, it took some convincing.

It was very evident Yankees’ owner George Steinbrenner wanted Sheffield in the team clubhouse. He is very fond of Sheffield’s uncle, Dwight “Doc” Gooden and has known Sheffield for several years. Both he and the free agent slugger live in Tampa during the off-season. The Yankees’ made Sheffield a solid 3-year, $39 million offer, which he initially accepted. Then, it was reported Sheffield was demanding more money. At this time I thought, here we go. Mr. Confrontational was going to live up to his advanced billing. However, things were smoothed over and Sheffield signed with the club.

As the Spring Training camps opened the BALCO steroid case hit the press and Sheffield was one of the names being floated around as a possible recipient of said steroids. It was an allegation Sheffield vehemently denied. He even went so far as to say he would be the first in line to take a drug test to prove it. However, when Sports Illustrated’s Rick Reilly took him up on the offer Sheffield refused to step forward, saying the MLBPA didn’t want its players taking any unsanctioned drug tests. It seemed, like Sammy Sosa, another athlete didn’t want to back up his words with actions.

The next incident came when Gary injured his thumb in spring training and it looked like he might miss some significant time due to the injury. The injury appeared to have carried over from the 2003 season when Sheffield played for the Atlanta Braves. Brian Cashman, the Yankees’ GM, told the press Sheffield’s injury might keep him out of action for two to three months. Sheffield was shocked and angered Cashman would go to the press and talk about his injury without consulting him first. As it turned out Gary only missed a few days of practice. He and Cashman talked things over and Cash admitted he was in error for not having consulted with Sheffield first. However, Cashman reminded Sheffield he was now playing on the biggest stage in sports, the New York Yankees, and the New York media would put him under a microscope looking for a story.

Back in March, when all of these things were swirling around Gary Sheffield, I thought to myself, ‘this is going to be a long and contentious season with that guy on the bench.’ Now, here’s where I admit I couldn’t have been more wrong about someone as I was Gary Sheffield.

The 2004 New York Yankees, on paper, looked like an unbeatable dynamo. The line up boasted of Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Jason Giambi, newly acquired Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada and Gary Sheffield. Looking at this line up you thought yourself you’d need a calculator to add up all the runs this team was going to score.

Then came Japan and one of the worst Aprils in Yankees’ history. The Yankees, who had a streak of winning Aprils going back twelve years, had to scramble to make it thirteen. They ended the month at 12-11, with 6 of those losses coming at the hands of the Boston Red Sox. Sheffield was virtually invisible. He had one home run and twelve RBI for the month. He had an OPS of .741. He was not exactly making a $13 million statement. To be perfectly fair, the rest of the team was languishing as well. April’s tortoise-like beginning was a team wide epidemic. As it turned out it was only a temporary chink in the Yankees’ armor.

As the season progressed it was revealed Gary Sheffield was playing with more than a bum tendon in his right thumb. On June 22nd the Yankees’ reported Sheffield had an unknown injury to his left shoulder and would be day-to-day. No one knew the extent of the injury and how long Sheffield would be out of action. As it was Gary only missed three games. Eventually, the injury itself has been diagnosed as an injury to the trapezius muscle. The injury is extremely painful and is aggravated by a sudden stopping of the shoulder joint (such as a check swing) or swinging without making contact. Sheffield has one of the hardest swings in baseball. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that each time Gary swings and either checks or misses it’s like sticking a hot poker in his shoulder.

Most other players would have shut it down by now. However, Gary Sheffield is not one of those players. He consulted Dr. Frank Jobe, the renowned orthopedic surgeon of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who told Sheffield he would need surgery in the off season. He was told he couldn’t damage the shoulder any more than he has and that a month of rest should fix the problem. For now Sheffield is bearing the pain and only when he has reached his pain threshold does he get a cortisone shot to relieve the agony.

Since May 1st Sheffield has done nothing but terrorize opposing pitching. He has raised his average from a season low .267 to a present .297. He has been over and just under .300 for the past couple of months. He has hit 35 home runs and driven in 105 runs. In other words, this guy has been playing with one arm all season long and carrying the team on his back.

Sheffield is a wonder to behold at the plate. When he connects with a pitch it’s not just a hit it’s a cannon shot. Sheffield is a classic pull hitter. I don’t care where you throw the ball, nine times out of ten Sheffield will pull the ball to left field. Third base coach Luis Sojo is so cognizant of a ball coming off Sheffield’s bat he stands some 10 feet behind the coach’s box. A runner on third base will stand in the coach’s box. The umpires knowing how hard and fast the ball comes off Gary’s bat overlook the fact the runner is basically out of the field of play. He is an imposing and intimidating figure at the plate. He stands in with his bat swishing back and forth. He pounces on a ball like a tiger pounces on a piece of raw meat. But when Gary misses you can see the pain in his eyes. It almost gets me teary-eyed knowing how painful those swings are. Yet Gary shakes it off, gets back in the box and starts that bat motion once again.

Another thing I want to address here is Sheffield’s citizenship. Since leaving Spring Training Gary has been a model citizen and from all reports a great teammate. I think it has something to do with putting on the pinstripes. Something comes over players when they don that uniform with the interlocking NY on it. Unlike, loose cannon Kevin Brown, Sheffield has been a source of quiet strength in the clubhouse. When things haven’t gone his way he hasn’t hit things with a bat or his hands. He let’s his play on the field do his talking for him. He doesn’t stand and watch when he hits home runs. He puts his head down and runs around the bases. If not for Gary Sheffield’s heroics the Yankees’ fortunes would definitely not be as good as they are now.

I know it’s early and I don’t have a vote, but if I did my vote would definitely go to Gary Sheffield. Not because I am a Yankees’ fan, but because the man has earned it. I hope when the Baseball Writers of America do vote they look at Sheffield’s name on the ballot and wonder what the guy would be doing with two good arms. If they do that there is no other candidate more deserving than Gary Sheffield.


PLAY BALL!



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