Yankees great claims innocent transaction ‘sabotaged’ his path to Hall of Fame

Yankees great Gary Sheffield was never one to mince words.

In a recent interview with Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY , in attempting to make a case for the Hall of Fame, Sheffield once again insisted he played his entire career clean.

“I played this game clean, and was proud that I played it clean,” Sheffield says, via USA TODAY. “Never, ever, did I cheat the game, and I’m proud of that.”

So how did Sheffield’s name get lumped in with those of Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds?

Sheffield’s name became entangled in the steroid era largely because of his brief connection to BALCO in 2002, when he worked out with Bonds and trainer Greg Anderson during an offseason.

Sheffield has acknowledged that Anderson once gave him a cream he believed was a legal nutritional supplement, saying he stoppe