14 Years Ago Gary Sheffield Joined The 500 Home Run Club
Today, we look back at Gary Sheffield's historic 500th home run, which he achieved in 2009.
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Pregame Pepper - Gary Sheffield Talks Hitting
Leading Off
When Gary Sheffield Became The 25th Player To Join The 500 Home Run Club
By Matt Graves
It was 14 years ago today Gary Sheffield achieved a rare milestone. He hit his 500th home run to become the 25th player in MLB history to reach the milestone. The nine-time All-Star took Mitch Stetter's pitch deep for his first of the season with the New York Mets. Sheffield dreamed of wearing the same uniform as his uncle, former Mets ace Dwight Gooden, for years. Even though he was cut from the Detroit Tigers in Spring Training, Sheffield was not seeing much playing time. However, he could still hit for power, despite the Mets using him for pinch-hitting duties.
Milwaukee Brewers manager Ken Macha replaced starter Dave Bush for southpaw Mitch Stetter. Meanwhile, the Mets called on Sheffield to pinch-hit for Shawn Green. Sheffield comes to the plate as he works off four pitches to make the count 3-2. The next pitch from Stetter saw Sheffield connect for his first long ball of the season. It was a good one, too, as his 500th homer sailed over the left-field wall.
Sheffield became just the fourth-oldest player to join the club. At 40 years, 150 days, the World Series champion shares the same feat with Willie McCovey (40 years, 171 days), Eddie Murray (40 years, 194 days), and Ted Williams (41 years, 291 days). Plus, he joined Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Jim Thome, and Manny Ramirez as the only active players to reach the milestone. Albert Pujols has since joined the exclusive baseball membership.
Sheffield's first major-league home run came almost 21 years before his 500th. Ironically, it was against the Brewers, as he signed with the Mets on April 5. Thankfully, it gave him a chance to avoid some unwanted company. Andres Galarraga and Al Kaline finished their careers with 399 home runs. As for Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff, both players ended their careers with 493 home runs each.
Despite his age and being well out of his prime, Sheffield made history. He was the first player whose 500th home run was his first with a new team. He even joined Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, Reggie Jackson, and Frank Robinson as the only players with 500 home runs, 2,500 hits, 1,500 RBI, and 200 stolen bases.
Matt Graves is an editor and writer for Last Word on Baseball. You can find him on Twitter at @LWOSGraves.
Definitely belongs in the Hall of Fame. No reason to keep him out.
Sheffield was a great player. I had a friend who loved to imitate him in the batter's box.
https://powderbluenostalgia.substack.com/p/another-mans-cleats