Florida / Miami Marlins All-Time Top 20 Players

16. Gary Sheffield (13.2)

Gary Sheffield was a 5-foot-11, 190 lb. third baseman and right fielder for the Marlins through their early seasons. Born on November 18th, 1968, he was a first round choice of the Milwaukee Brewers in 1986, with the sixth pick off the board.

Two seasons later, Sheffield made his major league debut with the Brewers, playing four middling seasons for them before joining the San Diego Padres for his first all-star campaign in 1992. Sheffield led the N.L. with a .330 batting average, clubbing 33 homers after totaling only 21 in his first four seasons. In late June, 1993, the brand-new Marlins got a shot-in-the-arm when the Padres traded Sheffield with Rich Rodriguez to Florida for Andres Beruman, Trevor Hoffman, and Jose Martinez.

Between the two clubs, Sheffield did enough to make his second all-star team, hitting .294/.361/.476 with 20 round-trippers and 73 RBI. He also stole 17 bases in 22 tries, helping lead the nascent Marlins to a 64-98 record. Not so great, but par-for-the-course for an expansion franchise.

In the lockout-shortened 1994 campaign, Sheffield played in 87 games for Florida, hitting .276/.380/.584 with 27 homers and 78 RBI, leading the team in slugging percentage and homers (Jeff Conine finished with 82 RBI, but more on him later).

The 1995 season started late due to the World Series-cancelling lockout, and Sheffield only appeared in 63 games for Florida. He hit .324/.467/.587 with another 16 homers and 46 RBI, along with 19 stolen bases in 23 tries.

1996 would see Sheffield make his third career all-star team with his solid campaign. A .314/.465/.624 slashline, 42 homers, and 120 RBI, with 16 stolen bases would see Sheff earn his first Silver Slugger and finish sixth in the N.L. Most Valuable Player Award vote. He led the Senior Circuit with his OBP and his 1.090 OPS over 161 games. His sky-high OBP was due to his career-high 142 walks drawn, versus only 66 strikeouts.

1997 would be a bit of a comedown for Sheffield, although it didn’t really hurt the Marlins in the long run. Sheff hit .250/.424/.446 with 21 homers and 71 RBI while appearing in 135 games. Even though he was 16-for-50 in the postseason, Sheffield also drew an incredible 20 walks for a slashline of .320/.514/.540.

Sheffield was traded by the Marlins in May of 1998 with Manuel Barrios, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, and Charles Johnson to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile. He played four seasons for the Dodgers, followed by two with the Atlanta Braves, three with the New York Yankees, two with the Detroit Tigers, and one with the New York Mets. After 22 seasons, he amassed 509 career home runs, ranking 26th on the all-time list.