NEW YORK — A single piece of paper may have cost one of baseball’s most feared hitters his rightful place in Cooperstown. That paper was a check for $146. His wife wrote it. And according to the former Yankees slugger, it destroyed everything he worked 22 years to build.
Gary Sheffield is waiting by the phone this Sunday. The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee will announce its Hall of Fame selections at 7:30 p.m. ET during MLB’s Winter Meetings in Orlando. The former Yankees All-Star pins big hopes.
But there is a shadow hanging over the former Yankees star’s candidacy. It is not his 509 home runs. Not his .292 career batting average. Not his nine All-Star selections or five Silver Slugger awards. It is that check.
The $146 payment surfaced during a BALCO raid and landed Sheffield’s name in the Mitchell Report. He insists it was for vitamins. Nothing more.
“I was just trying to figure out who I owed for my time there,” Sheffield told USA TODAY Sports. “That was it. So I had my wife write a check. That was the whole paper trail.”
He paused before delivering the gut punch.
“That check has sabotaged me when I have done nothing wrong. I have no regrets. I played this game hard. I played this game right. And I always respected this game.”
Sheffield’s time with the Yankees
The Yankees signed Sheffield before the 2004 season. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner negotiated the deal himself. A three-year, $39 million contract brought one of baseball’s most dangerous bats to the Yankees lineup.
Sheffield delivered immediately for the Yankees. He hit .290 with 36 home runs and 121 RBI in his first season. He finished second in American League MVP voting behind Vladimir Guerrero. He made the All-Star team and earned a Silver Slugger award. He helped lead New York to three consecutive postseason appearances.
His second Yankees season was nearly identical. He smashed 34 home runs with 123 RBI. Another All-Star nod. Another Silver Slugger. The Yankees counted on his bat in the middle of a lineup that included Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.
In total, Sheffield hit .291 with 76 home runs and 269 RBI over 347 games for the Yankees. His OPS+ during that stretch was 139. Known for his violent, iconic bat waggle and elite plate discipline, he was one of the best hitters in baseball during his time in the Bronx.
The BALCO cloud that never lifted
Sheffield trained with Barry Bonds before the 2002 season. This was two years before he joined the Yankees. He stayed at Bonds’ house. He worked out with him daily. He was introduced to Victor Conte and the people at BALCO.
But Sheffield swears he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. He has acknowledged that Bonds’ trainer Greg Anderson once gave him a cream he believed was a legal nutritional supplement. He stopped using it as soon as he grew suspicious.
That admission, combined with the $146 check from his wife that surfaced during the BALCO raid, was enough to land him in the Mitchell Report. He never failed a drug test. The report did not accuse him of knowingly using PEDs. Yet the association followed him to the Yankees and beyond.
Conte himself backed Sheffield up. The BALCO founder told USA TODAY Sports three years ago that he never discussed steroids with Sheffield.
“I never, ever had a conversation, an email, a text message, with Gary Sheffield about steroids,” Conte said. “The only thing we talked about was vitamins. He got absolutely railroaded.”
The former Yankees outfielder gets frustrated when his name is grouped with Bonds and Roger Clemens on these ballots.
“People associate my name with theirs, and that’s not right,” Sheffield said. “I don’t know who did what, but I’m nothing like the guys that are guilty. I can promise you that.”
“I played this game clean, and was proud that I played it clean. Never, ever, did I cheat the game, and I’m proud of that.”
Numbers that demand Cooperstown
The former Yankees slugger played 22 seasons. He hit 509 home runs. He drove in 1,676 runs. He collected 2,689 hits and stole 253 bases. His on-base percentage was .393. His slugging percentage was .514.
Only five players in baseball history have matched his combination of 500 home runs, 2,500 hits, 1,500 RBI, 1,400 walks, 200 stolen bases and a .290 batting average. The other four are Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson and Bonds.
Sheffield was the 1992 NL batting champion. He finished in the top 10 of MVP voting six times but never won the award. He won a World Series with the Marlins in 1997. He remains one of the most accomplished hitters never to reach the Hall of Fame.
Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre, who managed Sheffield with the Yankees, grabbed the outfielder’s face at last year’s induction ceremony. He looked him in the eyes and told him he belonged in Cooperstown.
A grandfather’s dream hangs in the balance
Sheffield’s grandfather Dan Gooden raised him to be a ballplayer. Gooden was the father of former Mets ace Dwight Gooden. He worshipped Hank Aaron and had a close relationship with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.
Sheffield watched his uncle Dwight struggle with cocaine and alcohol abuse. He vowed to live clean. He never touched drugs. Never smoked. Rarely drank. His grandfather had hoped both Sheffield and Gooden would one day play for the Yankees.
“I know it will be emotional, and the first person I’ll think about is my granddaddy,” Sheffield said. “He’s the one who got me into baseball. He always had dreams for me. He always believed in me.”
Dan Gooden died in 1997. He never saw his grandson reach 500 home runs. He never saw him dominate for the Yankees in the Bronx.
Sheffield is now 57 years old. The former Yankees star sits on the Contemporary Era ballot alongside Don Mattingly and Roger Clemens. The committee needs 12 of 16 votes to elect a player. Sheffield received 63.9% in his final Baseball Writers ballot in 2024. He fell 43 votes short.
Sunday’s vote may be one of his last chances. The Hall recently changed its rules. Any candidate receiving fewer than five votes twice will be barred from future consideration.
“I just wish my granddaddy were alive to see this,” Sheffield said. “He always said I was destined for this. And for my granddaddy, well, I know he’d be up there smiling, gloating, and letting everyone know what his grandson accomplished.”
Whether a $146 check written two decades ago will determine the former Yankees slugger’s legacy remains to be seen.
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