Gary Sheffield BLASTS ‘flawed’ MLB Hall of Fame voting process after falling off ballot

Gary Sheffield has attacked the MLB Hall of Fame voting system and labeled it as 'flawed' and full of 'politics'.

Gary Sheffield BLASTS ‘flawed’ MLB Hall of Fame voting process after falling off ballot

Gary Sheffield (Image via NY Post)

Gary Sheffield, a prominent baseball great, has now attacked the MLB Hall of Fame voting process. This move from him comes after he once again failed short off the ballot.

The 56-year-old appeared for eight different franchises in his career and is one of the few hitters to have managed to slam 500 or more home runs. Despite all his achievements, he has been unable to make it to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

YouTube video

As per the rules, a player has 10 attempts to get into the Hall of Fame class. This year Sheffield once again found his name on the ballot. Unfortunately for him though, he once again missed the chance to reach Cooperstown and etch his name in baseball history.

FS Video

As per reports from Fox News, Sheffield was 11.1 percentage points away from entering the HOF class. A minimum of 75 percent votes are required to reach this elite list. This was the former New York Yankees star’ final year of eligibility to become an MLB Hall of Famer.

For the unversed, a player has a ten year eligibility to become an Hall of Fame. However, the votes for the HOF come from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) members. Once again this year, they did not vote for him, a move which left Sheffield “surprised“. Appearing at the Audacy’s “The Bret Boone Podcast,” he would blast the voting process and label it ‘flawed’.

Gary Sheffield claims MLB Hall of Fame voting process has lot of politics

Gary Sheffield did not seem much impressed after he failed to make it into the MLB Hall of Fame this year. He would go on to rip the process following his snub and claimed that there is a lot of politics going on behind the scenes.

Gary Sheffield
Gary Sheffield (Image via Unhinged New York)

Speaking on The Bret Boone Podcast, Sheffield said:

It’s a flawed system based on guys not watching you on a day-to-day basis. Because if they did there’s no way they could look at you with a straight face and say this guy’s better than this guy and his numbers mean more than his numbers. Just from that standpoint alone, it’s biased and a lot of it is politics.
Gary Sheffield on MLB Hall of Fame voting.

A major reason for this snub could be his links with usage of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs). While Sheffield has time and again denied their usage, he has been accused of using them.

This year Adrian Beltre and Joe Mauer made it into this exclusive class in their very first year of eligibility. Meanwhile, Todd Helton found his way on his sixth attempt.

Sheffield could still make it to the baseball Hall of Fame through through the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee. The group consisting of former players, media members, historians and executives could vote him in. Will he actually ever make it though is what the fans are looking forward to now.

In case you missed it: