In the wake of the Choke Heard Round The World, plenty of anonymous players apparently sided with Jonathan Papelbon in his dispute with Bryce Harper. Gary Sheffield, a nine-time All-Star, is happy to put his name to the opposite opinion.
"If Papelbon said something, I'd say he's the wrong person to say something," Sheffield told Yahoo Sports' Grandstanding podcast. "He's not in the dugout, he's out in the bullpen. You don't even play every day ... Papelbon is a hardheaded guy who likes to throw his weight around." (Listen to the full interview above.)
Sheffield, who was in his fair share of scrapes during his 20 years of baseball, said the problem was in trying to solve the issue in public. "When guys make mistakes, and keep making mistakes, that's when the manager or an everyday player that he respects [needs to step in]," he said. "Go behind closed doors."
Sheffield will be on TBS over the next few weeks providing commentary on the playoffs, and he joined Grandstanding to discuss topics beyond Harper/Papelbon. In the interview, he breaks down the key playoff teams, including who stands the best chance to come out of each league. He talks about his own days as a player, particularly the contrast between his time on the Marlins and his time on the Yankees. And he offers up a World Series prediction that should make one major metropolis very happy.
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