February 17 2011 Last updated at 01:22 PM ET
Gary Sheffield has officially retired from baseball, according to a report in the New York Post. The slugger, who played for the Brewers, Marlins, Padres, Yankees, Dodgers, Braves, Tigers and Mets, made it so with a call to the Major League Baseball Players Association on Wednesday.Sheffield hinted at his retirement in December when he attended the Winter Meetings at Walt Disney World to pitch financial advice to active players. He last played for the Mets in 2009, and finishes his career with a .292 average, 509 home runs and 1,676 RBI over 22 seasons in the major leagues.
Those gaudy figures could give him a great shot to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame several years down the road, and Sheffield -- known as much for his bluntness as his bat during his career -- is not shy about his credentials.
"I am sure it will be mentioned and debated but from my standpoint I know who is in the Hall of Fame," Sheffield told the Post. "A lot of them don't belong in the Hall of Fame. If someone wants to debate me, check the stats."
Sheffield's ties to performance-enhancing drugs via the BALCO Scandal and 2007's Mitchell Report could complicate his hopes of induction into Cooperstown.
"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 told the Post. "If he talked to me I would respect that no matter what. But I cringe on that because he didn't."
Source: http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2011/02/17/report-gary-sheffield-officially-retires/
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