The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #67 Gary Sheffield

Joining the list at #67 is Gary Sheffield. Sheff is one of the great power-speed combos professional baseball has ever seen. He’s the only player in history with 500 home runs, 250 stolen bases, 1,450 walks, and fewer than 1,200 strikeouts. He’s the only player since the dead-ball era to have 1,000 extra-base hits, 250 stolen bases, and fewer than 1,200 strikeouts. He’s one of only four players in history with at least 500 home runs, 250 stolen bases, and a 70% stolen base percentage. He finished in the top-10 in MVP voting six times including three finishes in the top-3. Sheff finished in the top-10 in on-base % 10 times, helping him become one of only seven players in history with at least a .392 on-base percentage and 500 career home runs. Sheff led the Marlins to the 1997 World Series title, reaching base 15 times in a 7-game thriller over the Indians.

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Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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