Inside Power

by Gary Sheffield, David Ritz

Becoming a Major League ballplayer for Dwight and me, that was the dream.

Dwight is Dwight Gooden. Most people know him for winning the Cy Young Award. To me, though, he’s family, an uncle, but at four years older, really a brother . I can still remember those games of catch with Dwight in the him rearing back, and me somehow getting my mitt up to stop one of his fireballs. Often the two of us would sit with Grandpa (Dwight’s dad), and he’d tell us how hard it would be to make our dream come true, how just playing our best wouldn’t be enough.

He’d talk about “inside power.”

At the time, I didn’t really understand what Grandpa was driving at. But I do now. After twenty years in the “bigs” and seven Major League teams, I understand . When I landed with my first team, Milwaukee, I thought being a ballplayer was about hitting home runs. I’ve always been good at that. It took me longer to learn that “the game” as it’s played at the Major League level with millions on the line and the cameras always turned in your direction asks far more of you.

If you’re a go-along guy, it can be great. I’ve just found that too often “going along” gets in the way of being a man. I love this game. Love the feel of the bat in my hand, the grass under my feet, the shouts of encouragement as I step into the box. I draw strength from the fans and play my heart out for them.

I just wish those who control the game had more respect for the guys doing the playing.

What I want to do in this book is show you what it’s been like taking this strange, wonderful, sometimes immensely frustrating life journey. “Malcontent” . . . “greedy” . . . “selfish” I’ve had plenty of adjectives lobbed my way, and believe me, they’ve stung. There are a lot of stories to tell from a life lived on and off the some sweet, others horrific. Everything from soaking up Little League glory to nearly being shot to death, from learning the startling truth of how I came by my last name to playing with and for characters like A-Rod, Jeter, Lasorda, Leyland, and Torre. And, yeah, I’ll finally set the record straight about a guy named Steinbrenner and a guy named Bonds.

It’s a story Grandpa would want me to tell. It’s a story I need to tell.

Genres: Baseball

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Luke Koran · Rating 4 out of 5]

You ready for a candid, occasionally brash, autobiography from a member of baseball’s 500 home run club? Contrary to the ratings you see on this particular website, I mostly enjoyed my reading of Gary Sheffield’s book - and that's all thanks to his personable writing style. His straight-forward, rebellious personality translates well to these pages, which by extension means that most readers - myself included - will be turned off by one or two unlikable aspects of his life story. I applaud Shef for baring his thoughts on playing in various markets for numerous owners over his 18+ year career, in addition to his personal life involving his family and newfound faith. Well worth a quick read.

[Adrienna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned so much about him and an old friend Deleon Richards that is now married to him with three boys by him.

[Tom Gase · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, it was okay. A little too religious for me, which is funny because that is what the player tells the reader about religion at the start of the book. I was really hoping for more on the 1997 Marlins season and there is basically around seven pages on that season. It was interesting to hear him talk about his point of view of his Padre, Dodger and Yankee teams and that made the book a little more interesting. And it was cool to hear about his childhood with Dwight Gooden, but I think he spent too much time on that. Overall a nice look one of the better hitters of the `1990's but nothing to special about this one.

[Jim Poling · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. Easy to read, but not great. Growing up a marlins and baseball fan in the 90s, a lot of this stuff was right up my alley. Even more so, Sheffield has always been one of my favorite players and he deserves to be in the HOF. However, he does a lot of complaining in this book and it’s not written that well.

If you’re a fan of Sheffield and 90s-00s baseball I’d still recommend because it’s easy to get through but it was just ok, nothing special

[Kristin Dell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read. I enjoyed it a lot.

[Daryl Grigsby]

i loved this book. Gary Sheffield is a deep brother - espcially his comments about Terry Pendton's faith and generosity

[Corey · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a guy who was being paid millions of dollars to play baseball, this book sure was awfully whine-y.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book when he was still here in Detroit with the Tigers. Interesting to see how his past shaped him.