On this day in 2009 Gary Sheffield hit his 500th home run, taking Mitch Stetter deep in the 7th inning of a 5-4 Brewer loss to the Mets.
Since whining, crying and game-tossing his way out of Milwaukee in 1992, Sheffield had been a member of the Padres, Marlins, Dodgers, Braves, Yankees and Tigers. Despite the fact that he was a .257/.354/.433 hitter over two seasons in Detroit and was sitting on 499 career home runs, the Tigers released him during spring training. Sheffield hit .276/.372/.451 in 2009 as a Met but still couldn't find a team interested in having him around for 2010.
He retired with 509 career home runs, the 24th highest total of all time. 21 of those were hit over four seasons as a Brewer. 33 were hit in his first season in San Diego.
With help from the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:
- 2004 Brewer Gary Bennett, who turns 39.
- 1998-00 Brewer Marquis Grissom, who turns 44.
- 1985 Brewer Dave Huppert, who turns 54.
- 1973-76 Brewer Pedro Garcia, who turns 61.
- 1970-71 Brewer Roberto Pena, who would have turned 74.