LAKELAND, Fla. — Gary Sheffield is trying something new as he enters his 21st season in the majors: He wants to cut back on controversial remarks.

"After a while, you just get tired of the rhetoric," Sheffield said today before joining the Detroit Tigers for their first full-squad workout.

Can Sheffield keep up his new approach?

"I hope so," he said, smiling and laughing.

A year ago, Sheffield called his former agent, Scott Boras, a "bad person" and said he would have more to say when their dispute was settled.

An arbitrator decided in October that Sheffield owed Boras $550,000 for eliminating a 2004 option that allowed him to become a free agent, but the slugger declined comment.

"Anything personally, I'm not even getting involved with it," Sheffield said.

Now the 40-year-old Sheffield is one homer from becoming the 25th player to hit 500 homers and trying to bounce back from a bad year.

Sheffield said his family, including uncle Doc Gooden, will travel to Toronto for the season-opening series in the hopes of watching him reach the milestone.

"For the team's sake, I just hope I get it out of the way so I don't have to worry about it," he said. "I don't want to put the focus on my accomplishments. It's about the team."

Sheffield is in the final year of his contract and said he hasn't thought about whether he wants to play in 2010.