Playboy: So here you are, a superstar who has produced whenever you're healthy, and you get benched for the biggest game of the year. Did that hurt your pride?

Sheffield: Yeah, I second-guessed it. And a lot of other people did, too. Guys like Reggie Jackson came up to me and said, just bear with it; just accept the fact that that's what he decided to do. And if we lost, he had to take most of the blame. In New York, it's about winning, and any time you make decisions like that, when they don't work out, you have to look at yourself.

Playboy: In your book, you explain again how you unknowingly put a steroid-laced cream on your knee while training with Barry Bonds. If you were the commissioner of baseball, what would you do about steroids in baseball?

Sheffield: I would have lots of top players who are the faces of the game go out and be spokesmen about the matter. Get out there, educate kids that you have to be careful about everything you do, be accountable for it, be aware that it can hurt you in the long run. As far as the cream I took, it was nothing to enhance your performance or enhance your body; it was just something to heal some stitches that came loose from lifting weights.

Playboy: Some government investigators are demanding that positive steroid tests of ballplayers that were seized in 2004 should be made public. Do you think making positive test results public would discourage players more from using steroids?

Sheffield: Not at all. When there's millions and millions of dollars at stake, and there are middle-of-the-road type players, they're willing to try anything. You might have some superstars doing it, but for the most part you have the middle-of-the-road type players doing it. It gives baseball a black eye, and everybody has to take the blame for it.

Playboy: If a guy does use steroids and puts up huge numbers, should he be disqualified from the Hall of Fame?

Sheffield: When they made it illegal, that's where they have to start. Whatever you do from this point, you oughta be penalized. A lot of guys did things when nothing was illegal, and you can't go back and change the history books. They should have paid attention to it a lot earlier. Nobody knows what players were taking back in the '50s and '40s and '30s. If you want to blame this generation, you have to blame the whole baseball empire.

Playboy: You're known for being outspoken. Can you think of one time you spoke your mind, and later regretted it?

Sheffield: When I was 18 or 19 years old, my rookie year, a reporter asked me what I thought about all these pitchers hitting me and coming inside and knocking me down. And I responded, "Our pitchers need to throw back at them, because they're not throwing at these guys when they throw at me." It kind of put me in a bad situation at that age. I hadn't earned my way yet, as far as respect on the team. I spoke immaturely. At the same time, I learned from it, and I became a better person.

Playboy: You discuss details of negotiations with Dodgers management over your contract when you played with them. Are you worried that what you write will make people even more convinced that you're a greedy player or a bad influence on a ball club?

Sheffield: I don't think so. I'm the type of person where you don't notice that I'm in the clubhouse. I probably put up better numbers than anybody in the history of the Dodger organization. Going to the Yankees, I put up numbers that were comparable to A-Rod's. You don't bother me; I don't bother you. I tell people that up front, I don't start anything. But once you start, then we can finish it.

Playboy: Is there hypocrisy in baseball writers who love it when you say something controversial to sell papers, but they also love to bash you for being greedy?

Sheffield: There are some great reporters out there. You also have the critics who are not in it to write anything positive about you. Those are the ones I call hypocrites. Because when they walk in the room, and see Derek Jeter or A-Rod, they're automatically fans of theirs, because these guys say the right thing. But for the most part, they can't handle the truth, and when guys really speak the truth and perform at the same time, that irritates them. They can't break you and discourage you, and they have a problem with that.

Playboy: Toward the end of the book, you claim that major league baseball is turning its back on African-American players. What support do you have for that?

Sheffield: Check the numbers. That's all that needs to be said.

Playboy: What numbers?

Sheffield: The percentage of blacks is declining. You look at the players, you look at the management, you look at the people making decisions, and then you look at the NFL and the NBA. It's almost laughable.