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What was the best season of Gary Sheffield's career?

by Ted Bauer

BEST GARY SHEFFIELD SEASON EVER? WE'LL TAKE 1992

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Ya probably heard: the currently much-maligned Tigers just dropped Gary Sheffield one home run short of 500 (ouch). Sheff is an interesting dude: quite talented, quite controversial. His music equivalent might be NAS (quite possibly DMX, or late-era Oasis as well). We decided to rank the best seasons of his career to date. He's a nine-time All-Star, so there were a few options. No deeper analysis here, really: it's an investigation from the fandom perspective. If you disagree, why don't you holler at us?

TOP 5
RANK (YESTERDAY)		WHAT	WHY
	1 (10)	1992 (PADRES)	Sheff's 1992 season is something that people should talk about more historically: .330, 33 HR, 100 RBI. He made a Triple Crown run the entire season, ending up as the only Padre not named Tony Gwynn to win a batting title (he also led the league in total bases). Bonus: he faced his uncle, Mr. Dwight Gooden, in a game for the first time ever.
	2 (35)	1997 (MARLINS)	You play team sports to win titles, right? This was Sheffield's WS ring year.
	3 (62)	1996 (MARLINS)	You have animalistic seasons to get huge contracts down the road, right? Sheff in the year of Clinton vs. Dole: .314, 42 HR, 120 RBI. It's too bad Josh Beckett wasn't on that '96 Marlins team (because he was about four years old), or else they mighta stolen Joe Torre's first title right out from under him.
	4 (9)	2007 (TIGERS)	He was thirty-eight years old, and hit 20 HR while stealing 20 bases. Only Paul O'Neill has done that before. (Theoretically, A-Rod could, if the hip thing goes OK.) That's epic. 2007 was also the year he said Derek Jeter "wasn't all the way black." That's a little less epic.
	5 (42)	2000 (DODGERS)	Read it and mouth it back to yourself: .325, 43 HR (his single-season high), 109 RBI. Dodgers only won 86 games for Davey Johnson, but sheesh.

HONORABLE MENTION
RANK (YESTERDAY)		WHAT	WHY
	82 (139)	2004 (YANKEES)	Came to the Bombers and yacked 36 out of the park, helping to plate 121 in the process. Hooray! Then David Ortiz and Dave Roberts and Curt Schilling and a series of other guys utterly made the 2004 Yankees equal to "FAIL."
	103 (1,870)	2005 (YANKEES)	We were gonna put his Little League World Series appearance on here, but decided to go with his last majorly productive season in the Bronx before the injuries of 2006. Again, though, the 2005 Yankees: FAIL.

RISING AND FALLING
MOVEMENT		WHAT
		NEXT SEASON (Dude's got something left. Mark it down! The Rays should sign him.)
		2006 WITH THE YANKS (As noted, pretty limited by injuries.)

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