Former Yankees Slugger On Cusp Of Election To Hall of Fame

Gary Sheffield is on his last ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame and his election could go either way.

Former New York Yankees star Gary Sheffield is in his final year of eligibility for the Baseball Hall of Fame. One week away from knowing the complete results, his candidacy could go either way.

After 160 ballots revealed and tracked on social media, Sheffield’s name has been checked on 75% of the ballots, which is the necessary percentage needed for induction.

Members of the Baseball Writers Association of America had to cast their ballots by Dec. 31 and are not required to make theirs public. The entire Hall of Fame class will be revealed next Tuesday on MLB Network.

The induction ceremony is set for July 21 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

If Sheffield is not elected this year, his name falls off the ballot, though his candidacy can ben taken up by an Eras committee at a later date.

It’s expected that 384 ballots will be cast and that 288 votes are needed for induction.

Sheffield received just 55 percent of the vote last year, his ninth year on the ballot. That is in spite of a 22-years career in which he finished with a .292 batting average. He’s one of a small percentage of players with at least 500 career home runs (509), which puts him 27th in the category.

With the Yankees in 2005 and 2006, he put together his final All-Star campaign in his first season in the Bronx, eventually batting .294 with 34 home runs and 123 RBI. He also won a Silver Slugger award that season.

He was never an MVP but finished in the Top 10 of balloting six times. He was a nine-time All-Star, a five-time Silver Slugger and remains among the top-ranked players in walks (1,475), RBI (1,676) and total bases (4,737).

He won his only World Series rings with the Marlins in 1997.

Based on results after 160 ballots, Sheffield would join Adrián Beltré (98.8%), Joe Mauer (83.3%), Todd Helton (83.1%) and Billy Wagner (79.6%) in the 2024 Class. Former manager Jim Leyland is already set for induction after he was elected by the Eras Committee in December.

But there are a lot of votes left to count.