Cecil Fielder

Template:Mlbretired Cecil Grant Fielder (IPA: sɛsəl) (born September 21, 1963 in Los Angeles, California) is a former professional baseball player who was a popular slugger with the Toronto Blue Jays (1985-88), Detroit Tigers (1990-96), New York Yankees (1996-97), Anaheim Angels and Cleveland Indians (both in 1998). In 1990 he became the first player to reach the 50-home run mark since George Foster hit 52 for the Cincinnati Reds in 1977. He was often criticized for being overweight.

Cecil Fielder, built for power at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, gained Detroit's attention by hitting 38 home runs in Japan's Central League in 1989. He has a son named Prince Fielder, who is currently a power hitter for the Milwaukee Brewers. He was playing for the Hanshin Tigers, who had signed him away from the Toronto Blue Jays after the '88 season. A part-time first and third baseman for the Blue Jays, Fielder had batted 31 homers with 84 runs batted in during four seasons. With Toronto, he earned $125,000 per season; the Hanshin Tigers paid him $1,050,000, including a chauffeur and a full-time interpreter. More than the money, he said, he went to Japan for the opportunity to play every day. He became a hero to the local baseball fans that nicknamed him "Wild Bear" (wild, in Japan, is the image of power; bear, for his hulking presence).

Once again in the majors with the Detroit Tigers, Fielder, with his 51-homer, 132 RBI year in 1990, became one of the biggest stories of the season - and perhaps the biggest bargain in the sport (he earned $1.25 million). On the last day of the Tigers' season at Yankee Stadium, Fielder hit his 50th and 51st home runs to become the 11th player in ML history - and only the second in the previous 25 years - to reach the 50-HR plateau. No Detroit Tigers player had turned the mark since Hank Greenberg slugged 58 in 1938. Fielder, whose previous high mark was 14 with Toronto in 1987, provided a sudden and unexpected emergence as a legitimate slugger.

During the 1990s, Fielder built a reputation for clutch hitting and power, though the Tigers continued to be no better than mediocre. His new fans nicknamed him Big Daddy, for his big smile, peaceful temperament, and prodigious home runs.

In his six-year tenure with Detroit, Fielder had four consecutive 30-homer and 100-RBI seasons, and if the 1994 season had not been strike-shortened he almost certainly would have had another (he had 28 HRs and 90 RBI in 109 games that year). He became the only Tiger ever to hit at least 25 homers in six consecutive seasons. No player in Detroit history had hit as many over a six-year period (219), and no major league player had more home runs between 1990-95. In 1990, Fielder became the fourth American League player to have two 3-home run games in a season. Rickey Henderson and Cal Ripken, Jr. narrowly edged him for the AL's MVP Award in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

Fielder was a member of the All-Star Team in 1990, 1991, and 1993. He was inducted in the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994. He was traded to the New York Yankees on July 31, 1996, winning the World Series with them that year. He later played for the Anaheim Angels and Cleveland Indians between 1997 and 1998.

In his career, Cecil Fielder batted .255, with 319 HRs, 1008 RBI and a .482 slugging average, drawing 693 walks for a .345 on base percentage and 1 career stolen base which he recorded in a game against the Minnesota Twins.

In October 2004, The Detroit News reported that Fielder was suffering from extensive domestic and gambling problems. They relied on court documents from Fielder's divorce and a lawsuit brought against him by Trump Plaza Hotel and Casinos in New Jersey describing debts to various casinos, credit card companies and banks. Fielder later filed a libel suit against Gannett, the parent company of The Detroit News, and the lead reporter, Fred Girard, accusing them of slander and defamation of character. The suit sought US$25 million in damages and fees. Fielder lost his defamation suit. The trial court dismissed the suit and the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the decision.

Fielder's son, Prince, is a talented young first baseman who the Milwaukee Brewers selected in the 1st round of the 2002 amateur draft. Currently he is the Brewers' starting first baseman. Although Fielder was originally involved in his son's professional career, even negotiating his first contract, Prince and his family are no longer on speaking terms with Cecil.

Fielder is currently the manager for the South Coast League's Charlotte County Redfish, as of June 16, 2007.

See also

• 50 home run club
• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• List of second generation MLB players

Trivia

• Fielder was one of only four players, and the only Tiger, to homer over the left-field roof at Tiger Stadium (the other three are Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard and Mark McGwire).
• He also hit the only home run ever hit completely out of Milwaukee County Stadium. [1]
• Fielder was the 3rd American League player (6th overall) in the modern era to lead the league in RBIs in three consecutive seasons.
• Fielder's first name is pronounced "Sessel" not SEE-sel.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
• Baseball Library
• The Baseball Page
• Poor tale of Cecil Fielder - USA Today 10/18/2004