03/07: YB Community Projection: Gary Sheffield
Posted by: James
Gary Sheffield - Right fielder
Age: 37 Years Old.
Three-Year History and splits:
Outlook: Gary Sheffield: 2003 MVP Voting: 3rd place. 2004 MVP: Runner-up. 2005: .291/.379/.512 - MVP 8th Place. And yet, it looks like there are some chinks in that armor. His 2005 numbers, while very good, were less than his career averages and his OBP dipped below .392 for only the first time since 1994. Gary will be also be going into his age 37 season next year with 2,190 games and 7,886 at bats under his belt. With the way that he plays and how hard he swings that bat, that's a lot of wear and tear on that (in my mind) Hall of Fame body. You have to wonder if and when the wheels will start to come off. Will he experience a slow decline and still be of use to the club? Or will we be looking at a Bernie type fall, where we see the seemingly overnight transformation of a baseball superstar into someone that can and should be easily replaced. I'd pick the former for Sheff as he's still got that bat speed and that keen eye that very, very few players can match. Of course, that might be my wishful thinking since his option will be picked up (there looks to be very few impact players among next year's free agents so it makes sense). Still, a healthy Sheff will probably mean another Silver Slugger (no. 4 in a row) and protection that the Yankee lineup can depend on throughout the season. You can find SG's look at Sheffield here.
Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:
Age: 37 Years Old.
Three-Year History and splits:
| SEASON | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 155 | 576 | 126 | 190 | 37 | 2 | 39 | 132 | 86 | 55 | 18 | 4 | .330 | .419 | .604 | 1.023 |
| 2004 | 154 | 573 | 117 | 166 | 30 | 1 | 36 | 121 | 92 | 83 | 5 | 6 | .290 | .393 | .534 | .927 |
| 2005 | 154 | 584 | 104 | 170 | 27 | 0 | 34 | 123 | 78 | 76 | 10 | 2 | .291 | .379 | .512 | .891 |
Outlook: Gary Sheffield: 2003 MVP Voting: 3rd place. 2004 MVP: Runner-up. 2005: .291/.379/.512 - MVP 8th Place. And yet, it looks like there are some chinks in that armor. His 2005 numbers, while very good, were less than his career averages and his OBP dipped below .392 for only the first time since 1994. Gary will be also be going into his age 37 season next year with 2,190 games and 7,886 at bats under his belt. With the way that he plays and how hard he swings that bat, that's a lot of wear and tear on that (in my mind) Hall of Fame body. You have to wonder if and when the wheels will start to come off. Will he experience a slow decline and still be of use to the club? Or will we be looking at a Bernie type fall, where we see the seemingly overnight transformation of a baseball superstar into someone that can and should be easily replaced. I'd pick the former for Sheff as he's still got that bat speed and that keen eye that very, very few players can match. Of course, that might be my wishful thinking since his option will be picked up (there looks to be very few impact players among next year's free agents so it makes sense). Still, a healthy Sheff will probably mean another Silver Slugger (no. 4 in a row) and protection that the Yankee lineup can depend on throughout the season. You can find SG's look at Sheffield here.
Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:
| AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|
Mike A. wrote:
Sheff's definitely on the downside of his career, he'll still be productive for sure, just not the monster he was for most of his career.
He's a HOFer for sure, this year he'll drive in his 1500th run and score his 1500th run. He'll be only the 30th player in history to be a 1500-1500 guy, and other 29 guys are either in the hall or on their way to the hall (that might change with the new Bonds book).