Former MLB great Gary Sheffield may have been one of the greatest baseball players of his generation, but he definitely isn’t a consumer of baseball at all.
In a recent interview with CBS Sports Radio, Sheffield said that the ever-increasing numbers of strikeouts and home runs have turned him off.
“I don’t watch baseball at all,” explained. “I was kind of forced to watch baseball because I was working with TBS. And so I had to remember, really find out who were these players.
“I’ll tell you the secret now: I never watched the games during the season. I would get educated on it when I got there. It’s not something that I could watch, based on what I’m seeing, because I’ll be a complainer. … This is the first time I’ve ever said that out loud, but I’m just truly disappointed with what I watch.”
Sheffield continued, “(Baseball was exciting) when I was playing. They’ve implemented all these rules now and they’ve changed the game so much, they’re making it more hitter-friendly, even without having success,” Sheffield said. “These guys can go out there and strike out 180-190 times, and it’s OK.
“And then all of a sudden they show a home run. Now, a home run is less appealing, when a home run was a big deal and more appealing [when I played] because it wasn’t happening as often as it is now.
“That’s the way the game is played today, that doesn’t mean I have to watch it.”
Sheffield has done some home run hitting of his own. The slugger hit 509 home runs during his 22-year career. Sheffield spent the majority of his career with Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Florida/Miami.
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