Last Friday night, future Hall of Famer Gary Sheffield accomplished what fellow Tampan Fred McGriff came just seven round trippers short of amassing. The Hillsborough High School graduate smacked his 500th home run, his first hit as a New York Met, in the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers, and did so in a clutch spot to boot, as the solo blast tied the game and made him the first player to hit his 500th home run as a pinch hitter.

Ironically, the home run came against his first MLB team, one whose longtime fans still dislike Gary to this day thanks to his attitude when playing for them nearly two decades ago (he was said to have, among other things, played at half-intensity and intentionally made errors with the goal of getting traded, at which he ended up succeeding). The stigma of a bad attitude would stay with him for much of his career.

In fact, it’s his general attitude that has alienated baseball fans from him over the years. Stories include his 1998 trade from the Marlins to the Dodgers, about which he complained about having to pay a state income tax in California. Another was during his stint with the New York Yankees where, in response to an invite to the inaugural World Baseball Classic he quipped, “My season is when I’m getting paid.”

On top of his money grubber reputation, he also has well-documented steroid and racist allegations to contend with. He was named in the infamous Mitchell Report in December 2007, rehashing the story of Sheffield having obtained “the cream” from Barry Bonds, which he claims did not help him anyway. He also made derogatory remarks against the Brewers, calling them racist when they started Bill Spiers, a white player, at shortstop and moved Gary to third base. On top of that, Sheffield made disparaging comments about Latino players in 2007 while with the Detroit Tigers, saying, “They have more to lose than we do. You can send them back across the island. You can’t send us back. We’re already here.”

Despite the negativity, however, Gary Sheffield is a Hall of Famer, as his natural talent and his eye at the plate in addition to pure numbers will likely get him in. In researching his high school and minor league careers, it was obvious since his teenage years that he had “it” and would succeed at the highest level. He will also go down as one of the best fastball hitters in modern baseball history. Then again, I think that would be the case with any baseball player who had a young Dwight Gooden for a cousin and practice partner.

Ryan Burkett

Ryan can be reached at rburkett@gmail.com