If you were a baseball fan growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s, chances are you mimicked his batting stance.
His famous bat waggle was at the heart of one of the most memorable batting stances in baseball history -- one that was born of necessity, which as they say, is the mother of invention.
Gary Sheffield, a nine-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger Award winner, the 1992 National League batting champion and a 1997 World Series champion with the Marlins, was the latest guest on the 6-1-1 Podcast, hosted by former Phillies greats Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard.
The latest episode of the podcast was recorded at Fanatics Fest, which took place in New York City last month. And the topics covered with Sheffield were wide-ranging.
But you’ve got to start with the stance, right? That’s exactly what Rollins and Howard did, beginning with the question of where it came from.
“Well, it started in Rookie ball,” Sheffield said. “I got there and -- unlike today, where these kids are using wood bats at an early age -- I didn’t get to use a wood bat until I got to Rookie ball. And I kept getting jammed. And I was losing home runs, hitting it foul and being too quick on the ball.
“So I just worked on this routine. I used to hit like Julio Franco -- pointing the bat at the pitcher -- but I wasn’t wiggling. So what I did was, I got in batting practice and I started wiggling my bat, and I said, ‘Oh, that felt good.’ … And I hit 10 balls out in a row.”
The rest, is history -- the kind that results in 509 career home runs.
Sheffield was also asked which team, among those he played for during his 22-year Major League career, got “the best version” of Gary Sheffield.
“I’ll say New York,” said Sheffield of his time with the Yankees from 2004-06. “Just playing in New York’s atmosphere brought the best out of me. When I became a Yankee for the first time, I knew what the fans expected. … Once you put me up under that kind of pressure, now I’m gonna show you what I’ve got.”
Speaking of playing in New York, it’s not an easy thing to do given the bright lights in the Bronx and the tremendous expectations from the fans.
But what might be even harder than that? Negotiating your own contract with then-Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.
That’s exactly what Sheffield did.
“It’s the most intimidating thing I ever experienced,” he said. “ … I showed up, I walked in the room, and when I opened the door, he had a chair sitting in the front of the room -- turned backwards -- sitting with his arms on the chair. And that was the intimidation factor.
“When I walked in, I froze.”
At this point in the discussion, Rollins interjected with a statement that rings true to this day:
“It takes a lot to freeze Gary Sheffield."
Sheffield’s answer to Steinbrenner’s opening statement demonstrates why.
“So, you want to be a Yankee,” Steinbrenner said.
“Yeah,” Sheffield replied. “I’m the best player on the Yankees’ team and I’m not even on it yet.”
That was enough for Steinbrenner.
“OK,” he said. “Then we’re going to get it done.”
Sheffield posted an .897 OPS with 76 homers over three seasons for the Bronx Bombers. But that’s what the man did: He raked wherever he went.
Whether it was hitting .330 to win the NL batting title with the Padres in 1992, leading the league with a 1.090 OPS while with the Marlins in ’96, or belting a career-best 43 homers for the Dodgers in 2000, Sheffield was one of the most feared sluggers of his era.
And he did it all with one of the most memorable approaches at the plate in the game’s long and storied history.
Of those 10 straight homers he hit in batting practice that fateful day when his stance was born, all 10 were opposite-field shots.
“You know how impossible that is?” Rollins asked.
“It seems impossible,” Sheffield said. “But I did it.”
He did it for more than two decades in the big leagues, and you don’t want to miss a moment of Sheffield’s appearance on the latest episode of the 6-1-1 podcast, live from Fanatics Fest in New York.