The Unlikeable Sheffield

Gary Sheffield is officially done with baseball. He didn't play last year and said there was no rush to announce his retirement. Translation: No team wanted him last year.
Talented? Extremely. Sheffield was a feared slugger with incredible bat speed and a penchant for knocking in runs.
He was also an irritable, angry, hostile guy who bounced from team to team for a reason. He was, in many cases, a pain in the ass and more trouble than he was worth. When he accused Joe Torre of all people of racism, I lost whatever respect I had for the guy. It wasn't the only time Sheffield used the race card.
He played for, in order, the Brewers, Padres, Marlins (where he was on the 1997 World Series team), Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Tigers and Mets.
Are his stats Hall of Fame worthy? Absolutely. He belted 509 homers with 1,676 RBI's while batting .292. He accumulated 2,689 hits.
Will he get into the Hall? I think so. But there are the steroid rumors and accusations. His named turned up on the Mitchell report.
He seems to slip under the radar as far as steroids go. Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmiero and Clemens seem to dominate the steroid talk. But make no mistake about it, steroids will certainly play a role in his Hall of Fame candidacy.
When great players retire, many times I feel a twinge of sadness, no matter what team they played for. I remember the memories and know that I won't be able to admire their talent again.
That is not how I feel about Sheffield. I found him to be a class A jerk and I won't miss him. Not at all.