Gary Sheffield Announces Retirement After 22-Year Career, Starts Hall of Fame Debate

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Feb 17, 2011

Here comes another question mark for the Hall of Fame ballot to debate for years to come.

Gary Sheffield officially announced his retirement on Thursday after last playing for the New York Mets in 2009, the New York Post reports. 

"I wanted to retire after I played for the Mets," Sheffield told the Post. "My family said wait one year, that there was no need to rush it. I gave it a year and now it's time to say goodbye."

His prior teams include the Brewers, Padres, Marlins, Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Tigers and Mets.

The question remains whether or not  Sheffield will be inducted in to the Hall of Fame when he is eligible in 2014. Sheffield finished his 22-year career ranked 24th all time in home runs with 509. He also finished with a .292 career batting average with 1,676 RBIs.

"I am sure it will be mentioned and debated but from my standpoint I know who is in the Hall of Fame," Sheffield said. "A lot of them don't belong in the Hall of Fame. If someone wants to debate me, check the stats."

There are just 10 players of the 25 that hit 500 or more home runs in their respective careers that are not yet enshrined in Cooperstown. Four of those players, including Sheffield, are not eligible for the ballot, two are not yet on the ballot, and four are still active players, as reported by the Post.

Sheffield's records will be intensely scrutinized since being named on the Mitchell Report in 2007.

"The thing about the Mitchell Report is that I cringe about it because the guy who wrote the report didn't talk to me," Sheffield said. "If he talked to me I would respect that no matter what. But I cringe on that because he didn't." 

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