In an autobiography to be published this spring, Gary Sheffield, a former Braves player known for voicing his displeasure, describes his relationship with Barry Bonds, his link to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroid distribution case and his three turbulent seasons with the Yankees, culminating in his trade to Detroit last November.
A bound proof of the autobiography, "Inside Power," was mailed to The New York Times by Crown Publishing. It does not appear to contain any bombshells, but its candor and insight into baseball's steroids controversy and its most recognizable franchise have again catapulted Sheffield into the headlines.
During his three seasons with the Yankees, Sheffield was regarded as combative and outspoken, known as much for his chronic complaining about contracts as his bat waggle. He developed a reputation as a superb clutch hitter and as someone who would play hurt.
But Sheffield repeatedly found himself linked to the steroids scandal that engulfed the sport. He has said he unknowingly used a testosterone-laced cream.
"I've never touched a strength-building steroid in my life — and never will," Sheffield said in the book. "The proof is in pictures and stats."
According to the book, after agreeing to train with Bonds in Northern California after the 2001 season, Sheffield grew tired of Bonds' uncompromising control over their workout routine. He nevertheless agreed when Bonds said he would give him "vitamins" from the BALCO founder Victor Conte Jr. Sheffield said that Conte gave the vitamins to Greg Anderson, Bonds' trainer, who gave them to him.
As he acknowledged during testimony before the BALCO grand jury, Sheffield said that he rubbed cream on his knee after surgical stitches popped out while working out. Sheffield said that Anderson gave him "some cream that'll heal you up in a hurry," but he went to a doctor anyway.
"My understanding was that the cream was no different from the Neosporin you buy at Rite Aid," Sheffield said. "Only it worked quicker. It did work fast. It healed me in about a week."
His relationship with Bonds deteriorated soon after. He said Bonds told reporters in San Francisco that Sheffield could not handle the training regimen. They have not spoken since, although Sheffield said Bonds told BALCO to send him an invoice for about $400 for thecream.
Sheffield said that he started plotting his signing with the Yankees after the 2003 season with Atlanta. He planned a lunch meeting with Braves officials at a restaurant in Tampa, Fla., where the Yankees' principal owner, George Steinbrenner, often ate with the hopes that Steinbrenner would intensify his interest in signing him.
The negotiations that followed provided a backdrop for his history of moping about contracts. Sheffield said that Steinbrenner altered their initial three-year, $39 million agreement with a team option to include deferred payments.
Sheffield called manager Joe Torre "an enigma" and recalled how, in 2004, his first season with the Yankees, he grew infuriated that Torre had said he wished the team had signed the slugger Vladimir Guerrero.
During a meeting in Torre's office before a May game in Baltimore, Sheffield told him: "I'm tired of hearing you talk about how much you love Guerrero. That disrespects me."
The next season, Sheffield recounted, he and Torre had an argument in St. Louis the day after Torre called him out during a team meeting for his uneven defensive play. Sheffield said they quickly patched things up once Torre explained how he viewed him as a team leader and as someone who could handle the pressure.
After the Yankees crumbled to a first-round playoff defeat against Detroit, Sheffield said he knew his days with the team had ended.
"Up in New York, it became clear that the Yankees had no more use for me, other than as a pawn in a trade," he said. "But after a lifetime in professional ball, I wasn't about to be a pawn. That's not my style."
