Friday, July 24, 2020
Gary Sheffield
Gary Sheffield has
never shied away from controversy. Even as a little league player, he
showed the fire and intensity that he carried throughout his baseball
career.
Gary
had the distinct advantage of growing up with uncle, “Doc”
Gooden, the wonderful pitcher who spent much of his career with the
New York Mets. Sheffield learned how to hit pitches in the 100
mile-an-hour range that Gooden threw at him.
In
a recent interview, Sheffield indicated that the first time he had
ever experienced police brutality was when he was with his uncle at a
South Florida basketball game. He was 18. His group left in 3 cars,
and they were pulled over by the police as they left the stadium.
“Without cause” he added. Gooden was cuffed, and thrown to the
ground. Sheffield ran over to confront the police.
The
group was then beaten, taken to a deserted dog track. Again they were
beaten, black and blue, and then arrested. Sheffield and
Gooden received probation. At that point, they moved to St.
Petersburgh from Tampa.
More
recently, in 2015, on his way to a charity golf tournament, he was
pulled over, and his car was searched illegally. Another
confrontation was narrowly avoided.
Sheffield
retired from baseball in 2009, 22 years after he broke in with the
Milwaukee Brewers. He had an impressive .292 lifetime batting
average, and 509 home runs in his career. He was named to the All
Star team 9 times. His best season was in 1992, when he won the
National League batting title, and was named the MVP of the Major
Leagues. He was a well-traveled player, having stints in San Diego,
Florida, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Detroit, and in New York with the
Yankees and the Mets.
He
always maintained a very high “Slugging Percentage”, and is one
of a handful of players who homered in four different decades. The
number of votes he received for the Hall of Fame rose dramatically
this year. But he was mentioned in the 2004 performance enhancing
drugs scandal. That may affect his passing into the Hall.
“In
my 22 years as a professional athlete, I have been labelled
“outspoken” and “controversial”. And while it hasn't been
esay, I have worn each of those labels as a badge of honour. I wasn't
afraid to call out racial bias when I saw it, even when nobody backed
me up.”
There
will be more baseball, some time. They continue to squabble over
money, more than anything.
Sheffield
continues to work in the game, as an agent. And assuredly, as an
advocate for social justice.
# posted by James Hurst @ 8:13 AM 
