Gary

Sheffield

Beltré and Mauer earned induction into the hallowed halls of Cooperstown on their very first year on the ballot — garnering 95.1 percent and 76.1 percent of the vote respectively. It was a much longer road for Todd Helton, who finally eclipsed the 75% threshold (with 79.7 percent) in his sixth season on the ballot. Billy Wagner fell just five votes short of induction — finishing with 73.8 percent of the vote in his ninth season of eligibility. He should be able to nose it over the finish line in his final year on the ballot. Gary Sheffield was unable to do so in his final year of eligibility, finishing at 63.9 percent. Andruw Jones saw his total slightly rise from 58.1 percent to 61.6 percent in his seventh year on the ballot. Carlos Beltran was the only other player with over 50 percent of the vote — getting 57.1 percent in his second year on the ballot.

Sheffield says he has lost 10 pounds and several inches in the heat. ''As a power hitter, I need to keep weight on, keep muscle mass on,’' he said. Sheffield’s .464 slugging percentage in July is over 100 points lower than his previous low month this season, and he has hit just two homers this month, both in the same game.

Sheffield will continue playing in pain but playing well.

He was to have received the injections after tonight’s game against the Royals. Sheffield missed three games after his last round of shots and he didn’t want to risk missing any of this crucial series against Boston. He will likely take the shots Sunday night, and miss the Yankees’ first few games next week.

The Yankee MVP hopes the injections will alleviate the pain he is feeling in his partially separated left trapezius muscle. Although Sheffield indicated that he would play tonight if his shoulder bounced back from yesterday’s shots, he will likely miss a game or two while he recovers.

It seems that the two cortisone shots he received on September 19th did very little to alleviate the pain in his left shoulder. Sheffield says the injury is more of a concern on defense than when he hits, so look for the Yankee MVP to DH if he plays much at all this weekend.

In fact Sheffield felt so good, he tried to hit in the batting cage and talk his way into the lineup last night. Although Yankee manager Joe Torre didn’t budge last night, he may choose to put his slugger back in the lineup this evening.

The swelling in Sheffield’s ankle was minimal, and the New York slugger would have played yesterday if the game was not to have taken place on the hard Skydome turf.

Sheffield, who was introduced to BALCO by Barry Bonds, says he was not told that the cream, which he used before and during the 2002 season, was an illegal steroid. “It was like you could go to a store and find something like that. That’s what was in my thoughts,” he says. “I put it on my legs and thought nothing of it. I kept it in my locker. The trainer saw my cream.” Sheffield said he cut ties with BALCO following the 2002 season. He’s come back with two of his best seasons since then.

It’s not expected that Sheffield will need surgery, but it hasn’t been ruled out.