It may be the most difficult time for Tiger Gary Sheffield when he was released by the Detroit Tigers. The team’s decision was based on the plummeting performance of Sheffield in the season. Since Sheffield is still under a 2 year contract with the team, he will still be paid $14 million. He still have a year to complete the term. Sheffield told reporters in an interview that it is the last thing he thought would happen to him.

At 40, Sheffield is one mark shy to a 500 homer mark which is considered as a passport to the Hall of Fame. His stat of 499 career homer may end if no other team would get his service next season. Under the existing policy of the league, Sheffield could again look for other teams but he may just get $400,000, the minimum contract for a player. This would be a great bargain for other teams to get him back in the league. it was reported that the Phillies already contacted Sheffield for another possible contract.

When asked about the decision, Detroit Tigers team manager Jim Leyland said that there is no question that it is the right move. As to the 500 homer mark, Leyland also said that Sheffield will get it or even surpass that mark.

As a designated hitter for the Tigers, Sheffield only has a .225 hit this season. During the spring training he even got a much lower stats which others believed influenced the decision of the team. He was traded from the Yankees in the 2007 season to boost the lineup of the Tigers. However, his performance significantly dropped when he was injured in the middle of 2007. He was replaced by Josh Anderson from the Atlanta Braves.

There were also some speculations that the decline in Sheffield’s performance was due to his steroid use. He was one of the players in the league who were invited to testify in the BALCO case in December 2003. He testified in the federal grand jury about his connection with BALCO. He also told Sports Illustrated that he unknowingly used a designer steroid to treat his knee. He also has a close ties with Barry Bonds.

In the minor league, Giants Kelvin Pichardo was also reported to have a positive test result for a banned performance enhancing substance. It was not yet clear what specific drugs he was tested positive, it may be for steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. The team said that they will continue to provide Pichardo with the necessary support and counseling during his suspension. “As an organization, we will continue to work with our players, Major League Baseball and the Players Association to do everything we can to eliminate these performance enhancing substances from our game,” the team said in a formal statement.

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