MLB WORLD SERIES: INDIANS v MARLINS

October 17, 1997

Gary Sheffield

GARY SHEFFIELD: Well, actually I was working out in Atlanta, working out for the season. And my first thinking was how excited I was, especially when they signed Alex Fernandez. I knew what it meant to not have fans to come out to the stadium, and when Alex signed the first thing was that we were going to have a packed house. And I'll get an opportunity to play in front of a full house every night.

GARY SHEFFIELD: I was at the game. I had it in my contract with Milwaukie Brewers to attend the '86 World Series and it just so happened --

GARY SHEFFIELD: There's a lot of guys that are quick bats. But are you talking about nowadays?

GARY SHEFFIELD: I really don't consider myself as having the quickest bat in baseball. I see a lot of guys with a lot of bat speeds. The first guy that comes to mind is Barry Bonds.

GARY SHEFFIELD: Now it has. A lot of times you don't get a chance to reflect on what's going on until it's over, and lucky enough I have postseason experience playing against the Giants and Braves, and to actually be in the World Series you have a better understanding of what's going on, and probably a little bit of floating is going away now. I'm just in awe that I'm here. And I'm so excited.

GARY SHEFFIELD: Well, my thoughts was at first I was sad because I like Huizenga as the owner. If we go out and win the World Series he might change his mind. That's been the attitude of the whole team. If we can do something to make him feel special around here at the might reconsider.

GARY SHEFFIELD: Just being in the World Series and going against the American League team, it always helped facing a National League pitcher. I know what he's tried to do to hitters, and I think being able to face him a couple of times kind of takes the edge away. Just going out there now I know what I've got to expect from him.

GARY SHEFFIELD: At times when I first faced him he got me out a couple of times, when I figured out his patterns I had successes off him. I hit a couple of homeruns off him. And hopefully that can remain.

GARY SHEFFIELD: We showed we can win without it. You have to give the Braves credit. They didn't come in the zone a lot of times, they didn't give you the opportunity to hit homeruns, they stayed away from the guys. This is a different pitching staff. Nobody is better than the Braves pitching staff. And I think that's going to show up in this series.

GARY SHEFFIELD: Yes, that's what it's all about. Like I said in Spring Training it's not about numbers with me anymore. I have a contract and stats in my career. What's important is getting the ring. And I think I thought too far ahead about getting here, and I didn't focus on what -- the little things I had to do to be successful during the season. You have to understand when you're getting a lot of walks every day and you want to participate and everybody is having fun and swinging the bat and you don't get a chance to swing the bat it makes a difference, and I think I forgot about the little things.

GARY SHEFFIELD: My place is not that big, but the hotel bill is going to be pretty healthy for him.

GARY SHEFFIELD: The main thing that comes to mind is Jim told me -- I know what kind of player he is, and that's the one guy that's been on my mind, he hasn't had a great series, and he's coming in here he's going to be a little hungry, because the guys had to help get him here. He did it during the season and during the American League playoffs those guys picked him up. And I'm sure that he's going to be trying to pick them up in the World Series.

GARY SHEFFIELD: Well, just being around him in the World Series, in '86, I was able to see the things he had to go through and what it took to win. And we talked a little about it last year, they played in Atlanta. I happened to be in Atlanta working out. Hi told you to relax and have fun with it, because you never know when you're going to come back.

GARY SHEFFIELD: Well, when you look at the Colorado team, they've got a lot of veteran guys, and they're an expansion team. When I came over here it was to rebuild the team. And I just looked at it as a situation where they weren't moving fast enough at the time I thought. But they pulled me to the side and told me to be patient, things were going to work out and they showed me the way it was going to work. They went out and got Bobby and Alou and Fernandez.

GARY SHEFFIELD: As I recall I think we beat Maddox twice, and I think he's the best pitcher in the game. We have to look at it as that, we beat the best pitcher in the world and we can't look at him any different.

GARY SHEFFIELD: When I first got here, I came over, I was hurting, I hurt my arm. And they were talking about signing me long-term and I had doubts, should I sign long-term. And my family had a lot to do with it, being close to home. And I think just being injured the whole year and not being able to do the things I was capable of doing, that was my low point.

GARY SHEFFIELD: I think both. I think I worked real hard off season to get prepared to play this game. I appreciate the game a lot more than I did in the past. I used to do things just to get by, and I think now I owe a lot of responsibility as a person to the young players to show them the right way.

GARY SHEFFIELD: I feel that the best is here, the best of teams is here. The pitching staff, they are the best pitching staff. But as far as teams, the best teams are here.

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