Gary Sheffield (Star Rookie)

Gary Antonian Sheffield (November 18, 1968-) was a Major League slugger for 22 seasons and hit his first home run in his first Major League at-bat. The Milwaukee Brewers took Gary with the sixth overall pick of the 1986 MLB June Amateur Draft plugging him in at third base and in the outfield until he contended for the starting spot at short in 1989. After four seasons in Milwaukee (1988-1991), he was traded to the San Diego Padres where he contended for the National League Triple Crown as he led the league in batting average (.330) and finished third in home runs with 33 and fifth in RBI with 100. Sheffield’s arrogance and bad attitude tended to sour management, despite the numbers he posted each season. Gary played with eight different teams during his 22-year career, spending time in Milwaukee, San Diego (1992-1993) and playing for the Florida Marlins (1993-1998), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1998-2001), the Atlanta Braves (2002-2003), the New York Yankees (2004-2006), the Detroit Tigers (2007-2008) and the New York Mets (2009). He batted .300 or better in ten seasons, had eight seasons with 100 or more RBI and hit 20 or more home runs 14 times. He is the first player in Major League history to hit 25 or more home runs with six different teams. Sheff played primarily as a right fielder and posted a .964 career fielding percentage. Gary was a nine-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger Award winner. Interestingly, Gary is the nephew of All-Star pitcher and 1985 NL Cy Young Award winner Dwight Gooden. In 1992, Sheffield faced Doc Gooden for the first time, recording one hit in three at-bats. In 1997, Sheff was a member of the World Champion Florida Marlins and was then shipped to Los Angeles in typical Marlins fashion of selling of players after championship seasons. Gary Sheffield finished his career with a .292 career batting average with 2,689 hits including 467 doubles and 509 home runs, 1,636 runs scored, 253 stolen bases and 1,676 RBI in more than 2,500 games. He also posted a .964 career fielding percentage. After his playing days, Gary became an agent representing other MLB players.