Ahead of the announcement of the 2021 Hall of Fame class, we here at Fish Stripes posed the idea of how a weak first-year class could prove a net positive for the likes of Scott Rolen and former Marlin Gary Sheffield in their pursuit of plaques in Cooperstown. The result: while no new names were elected to the Hall, Rolen and Sheffield did make good headway. Rolen received a 17.6-percent boost (from 35.3% in 2020 to 52.9% in 2021), and Sheffield jumped 10.1 percentage points (30.5% to 40.6%), respectively.
Now, entering his eighth year of eligibility, we find ourselves here again, digging through the numbers, making a case for Sheffield’s place in the Hall.