Fielder Making Name for Himself

The shadow of his father follows Prince Fielder every time he steps on the field.

It’s there in that burly build, a baseball player hidden in a fullback’s body. It’s there at the plate, in that left-handed swing his father encouraged when the boy was barely old enough to hold a bat. And it’s there when bat meets ball, a gift for power hitting you’re either born with or you’re not.

As the Milwaukee Brewers first baseman makes an early case for NL rookie of the year honors, the temptation is to turn his story into some trite saga about dreams shared by father and son. But family isn’t always that simple, and the hard truth behind the ties that bind is that they can unravel just as easily.

While Fielder can’t help but draw comparisons to his All-Star father, Cecil, with every swing of his bat, he is determined to forge his own identity -- to be someone besides the son of the father he hasn’t spoken to in three years.

“For me, I just try and be myself,” Fielder said. “Every now and then, I’d rather people would notice what I do on the field rather than always comparing me, because I think we’re totally different players. Hopefully in years to come, people will start doing that.”

Attempts by the Associated Press to reach Cecil Fielder through his attorney, former agent and the Black Family Channel, where he is co-vice chairman, were unsuccessful.

Cecil Fielder was one of baseball’s most feared sluggers in the early ‘90s, a mountain of a man who could hit home runs at what was then a staggering rate. When he hit 51 with the Detroit Tigers in 1990, it was the first 50-plus season since George Foster in 1977, and only the third since Roger Maris hit a then-record 61 in 1961.

Cecil Fielder’s .592 slugging percentage led the American League that year, as did his 132 RBIs. He had 160 home runs and 506 RBIs from 1990 to 1993, and was on pace for another 30-homer, 100-RBI season when a strike wiped out the end of the 1994 season.

By the time he retired in 1998, the three-time All-Star had 319 home runs and 1,008 RBIs. He was runner-up for the AL MVP twice, finishing behind Rickey Henderson (1990) and Cal Ripken (1991).

Those were good times for father and son, who had a front seat for the ride. When the younger Fielder was 8, he spent the summer on the road with his dad. He missed two months of school when his father and the New York Yankees won the 1996 World Series.

“Just hanging out in the clubhouse, eating all the candy,” Fielder said of those days. “Little things like that. Not too much baseball things. Just being able to hang around the guys. It was a lot of fun.

“For me, it wasn’t a big deal because it was just normal,” he added. “As I got older, I kind of appreciated it more. It was a good experience.”

The elder Fielder earned almost $47 million during his career, enough to take care of his family for several generations. But according to a 2004 story by the Detroit News, Cecil Fielder squandered that fortune through gambling and bad business decisions. Things got so bad, according to the News, that Prince Fielder was served with legal papers for his father as he left the field after a 2002 game at Class-A Beloit.

For Cecil Fielder, there was a bitter divorce from his wife, Stacey. His relationship with his cherished son didn’t fare much better.

Their estrangement is clearly a subject the younger Fielder prefers to avoid. He will say only that it was his decision to cut off communication, and it has been about three years since they’ve talked. He has no idea if his father keeps tabs on his career.

“He’s doing his thing right now, and I’m kind of busy with my thing,” said Fielder, who has two young sons of his own, Jaden and Haven, with wife Chanel.

“I have my own kids now. I worry about them more than anything,” he said. “It really doesn’t bother me too much.”

Even to his closest friends, the subject is closed.

“We really don’t talk about it,” said Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks, who has known Fielder since they were teenagers and is godfather to his older son. “That’s between him and Prince.”

But the comparisons, that shadow, they’re always there.

“When you’re the son of a great major league hitter like Cecil was, obviously there are going to be comparisons. That’s just the way it is,” said Dale Sveum, Milwaukee’s third base coach. “[But] he’s his own man. He knows what he has to do, and he wants to make his own legacy.”

He’s well on his way. A first-round pick in the 2002 amateur draft, Fielder was hitting .320 through Wednesday night, with nine homers and 33 RBIs.

A natural right-hander, he was about 5 when his father turned him around and told him to hit lefty.

“He said it was easier for lefties to hit because there were more right-handed pitchers,” Fielder said. “When he told me that, I just kept doing it.... It was a good move by him.”

Opposing managers have brought a left-hander in to face Fielder 17 times this season, and he is 6 for 16 (.375) with two homers and eight RBIs and a walk. Overall, he’s hitting .333 against lefties, with six homers and 17 RBIs.

And while he may not look particularly nimble at 6 feet, 260 pounds, the 22-year-old has four stolen bases.

“There was no question when I saw some video of him hitting last year that he could be something special with the bat,” said Hall of Famer Robin Yount, who returned to Milwaukee this year to be the Brewers’ bench coach. “He had some talents that were awfully, awfully good for as young a player as he was.

“The thing that caught my eye most about him offensively was how he was able to hit a number of pitches,” Yount said. “Some power hitters only can handle one pitch, in one spot. If you watch video of him, he’s hitting pitches all over the strike zone. Hard. That’s a talent in itself. There’s not a lot of guys that are able to hit lots of different pitches in different areas hard, and he’s able to do that.”

Fielder’s defense has been a pleasant surprise. If there was any doubt about him coming into the majors, it was how he’d fare in the field. But his fielding percentage as of Wednesday was a respectable .993. He had committed three errors.

“The guy cares and he wants to compete,” said Sveum, who has worked extensively with Fielder and the Brewers’ other youngsters. “We worked really hard in spring training to iron out a few things, and he took to it and he’s done a great job.”

With his talent, background and familiarity with the major leagues, it would have been easy for Fielder to be cocky or arrogant. But he has the maturity of someone a decade older, not a rookie who only turned 22 last month.

Anyone looking for Fielder knows to check the batting cage, where he spends hours trying to perfect his stroke. His large hands are calloused and as rough as sandpaper. He’s constantly working on his footwork when he’s shagging balls.

“If you work hard, usually it pays off,” he said. “It’s going to be tough, but I think as long as you keep working hard, it’ll come quicker rather than later.”

Maybe then that shadow of his father finally will fade.