Prince Fielder

[Matt Breen]

Prince Fielder was born in Ontario, California, on May 9, 1984. His father was slugging first baseman, Cecil Fielder. Despite being a natural right-hander, Cecil had Prince learn to hit left-handed as a kid.

Fielder grew up around baseball and was a fixture in the Tigers clubhouse. He even took batting practice and hit an upper-deck home run at the age of 12. He attended high school in Florida - his prodigious power attracted the attention of college and professional scouts.

The Brewers drafted Fielder in the first round - seventh overall selection - of the 2002 draft. No one doubted Fielder’s ability to hit the ball - but some questioned if his body type (5’11” and weighed 250+ pounds) would allow him to play at the highest levels. Many scouts wondered if he could even handle 1B - and thought he was destined to be a DH. The Brewers felt that Fielder was athletic enough to play regularly in the field.

No matter what anyone thought about Fielder’s glove - he quickly proved he could hit. He smashed a grand slam in his first professional game - and never stopped hitting. At Ogden - Rookie Ball - he clubbed 10 HR and hit .390 in 41 games. The baseball world quickly took notice - the 18-year-old kid could hit.

Fielder’s progress through the minor leagues was steady and consistent. He pounded between 23 and 28 HRs and never hit below .272. The Brewers felt they had a star slugger on their hands. 

In 2005, the 21-year-old Fielder got a 39-game trial in Milwaukee. The team was sold after he hit a respectable .288 on 59 ABs - plus a pair of HRs. The only problem was that the Brewers had a good first baseman on the roster - Lyle Overbay. That issue was addressed when the club dealt Overbay to the Toronto Blue Jays in the offseason. First base was now Fielder’s.

And the young man did not disappoint - hitting 28 HRs with a .271 batting average. He was seventh in Rookie of the Year voting. But it was the following season - 2007 - where the big man broke out. That year he smashed a club record 50 HRs (a record that still stands) and produced an OPS north of 1.000. Fielder’s plate discipline also developed at this time - and over the next five years, he averaged more than 100 walks a season. 

By the way, Fielder’s powerful bat was essential to his success because he was not an asset in the field. At his best, Prince was still a below-average first baseman. 

But Fielder’s glove is not what allowed him to anchor the Brewer lineup for six seasons. It was his potent bat. In that time, he hit between 28 and 50 HRs each season, averaging more than 100 RBI a year. His batting average was always steady - between .260-.300. He was also an iron man - averaging 160 games played during his six full seasons.

During his time in Milwaukee, Fielder was named to three all-star teams, won two Silver Slugger awards, and three times finished either third or fourth in the MVP voting. 

But most importantly, in 2008, Fielder helped lead the Brewers to their first playoff appearance in 25 years. And then, in 2011, the club captured the NL Central title and reached the NLCS (losing to the Cardinals). 

The offseason ended Fielder’s tenure in Milwaukee - something most fans expected as the big first baseman was a free agent. The Brewers - most people believed - wouldn’t be able to compete financially with the bigger market clubs. And they were right. Fielder signed a 9-year, $214M contract with the Tigers in January 2012. 

While Fielder continued to produce in Detroit (including hitting a career-high .313 in 2012), his power began to slip. In 2013, he hit .279 and 25 HRs. Not bad, but not up to his standards. In the off-season, Fielder was traded to Texas - and things went badly out of the gate. In the first 42 games of the year, he hit .247 and only three home runs. He then missed the rest of the year after undergoing neck surgery.

Fielder rebounded in 2015, hitting .305 to go with 23 HRs. But the following season was a disaster as he was plagued by back and neck problems. In July, he was diagnosed with herniations in his neck. Within a month, he announced his playing career was over. Fielder was just 32 years old.

The end of Fielder’s career was abrupt - especially considering he had been an iron man with the Brewers. 

Fielder concluded his career with 319 HR and more than 1,000 RBI. If he had stayed healthy, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he could have hit another 100+ home run. Perhaps even have gotten to 500. That would have put him into Hall of Fame contention.

Prince was one of the most feared power hitters in the majors at his best. He holds the Brewers' team record for home runs and RBIs in a season and ranks third in career HRs - despite only playing six seasons in Milwaukee.

Fielder is the youngest player in National League history to hit 50 home runs in a season and captured two Home Run Derby titles.

Perhaps Fielder’s greatest legacy is being a key cog in rejuvenating the Brewer franchise in the late 2000s and into the 2010s. Because of his massive power, every at-bat of Fielder’s at Miller Park was a legitimate threat to go sailing out of the stadium. 

Fielder was inducted into the Brewers Walk of Fame in 2022.

Fielder, by the way, had a contentious relationship with his father, Cecil, much of it because of his parent’s bitter divorce. Also, Prince resented his father’s often overbearing attempts to control his career - and thus, he wanted little to do with Cecil. 

Upon his retirement, Fielder focused on his family - his wife and him raising their two sons in Florida. Both boys - who are taller than their father - are considered quality baseball players - so there may be another generation of Fielders in the major leagues.

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