Though it’s been 10 years since he hit a home run out of a major league ballpark, nine-time MLB All-Star Gary Sheffield still knows how to go yard.
In a video he posted to his Instagram account on Monday, Sheffield crushes a number of homers over the fence of an unidentified practice field.
The feat looks even more impressive when Sheffield takes his left hand off the bat and uses it to pull out the cigar that’s in his mouth so he can exhale smoke.
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“51 years old and still has the fastest hands alive #garysheffieldswing haha old man still got it,” the caption on the video reads.
Sheffield played 22 seasons in the majors including stints with the Dodgers, Marlins, Yankees and Brewers. He ended his career in 2009 with the Mets, finishing up with 2,689 hits, 509 home runs, 1,676 RBI, 1,475 walks, 253 stolen bases and a .292 batting average.
At first glance, it would seem Sheffield has Hall-of-Fame numbers and is worthy of a spot in Cooperstown. But, though he’s eligible for induction, he’s yet to even approach the 75 percent of votes he’d need to get in, only getting 13.6 percent of the vote in 2019.
“Sheffield enjoyed a small bump in voting last season, to a three-year high of 13.3%,” Gabe Lacques of USA TODAY Sports wrote in 2018. “But it’s clear a climb to 75% is unlikely. He’s polling 40 points behind Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, who are similarly linked to PEDs, and even further behind slugging contemporaries like Edgar Martinez. Sheffield should make it to the end of his 10-year ballot run, but will likely never top 50% — let alone the 75% he’d need for induction.”
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