Prince Fielder and Cecil Fielder have a lot in common. They both spent a bulk of their career with the Detroit Tigers, they both are hefty boys that hit the shit out of the ball, they both had 50+ home run seasons making them the only father son duo to do that in the history of the MLB, and they both have the same amount of career home runs at 319. So why do they hate each other? Well, like any good mob movie, it has something to do with money.
Lets start with Cecil and his career. Drafted in 1982 by the Royals, He made his debut in 1985 for the Blue Jays. After 4 seasons of bouncing back and forth from the MLB and AAA Cecil pulled a Lebron and took his talents to south beach... Japan to play for the Hanshin Tigers in the NPB of Japan. After putting up decent stats with a .302 average, 38 bombs, and 81RBI's. That got enough attention from the Tigers in Detroit to sign him to a 2 year deal. Cecil wasted no time in Detroit hitting 51 big boys in his first year earning him an All-Star selection, Silver Slugger, MVP runner up and the first American League player to hit 50 homers in a year since Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961. Another MVP runner up season followed in 1991, and Cecil Fielder was a hot piece of ass.
In 1993 Cecil Became the highest paid player in MLB History with a 5 year 36 million dollar deal in Detroit. This would be pennies compared to what his son signed with the Tigers. Known for his happy and childish charisma, Cecil was a fan favorite in Detroit. One of my favorite Cecil Fielder stats is that he holds the record for most games played before recording a stolen base, it only took him 1,096 games. I mean shit, he's got 2 more career stolen bases than me in the MLB. After his contract ended Cecil bounced around for a little and even picked up a ring while playing for the Yankees in 1996. Retiring in 1998, Cecil was done playing ball, but his son Prince, was just getting started.
Prince was around MLB teams his whole life because of Cecil. Here he is hitting nukes off of a young Terry Francona.
Drafted 7th overall in the 2002 draft by the Brewers, Prince had some big shoes to fill, literally and figuratively. Making his debut in 2005, Prince was mainly just a home run guy his first 2 years, coming off of the bench to bring the boom. 2007 was the year of Prince when he cranked out 50 bombs on route to his first all-star selection, Silver Slugger, and 3rd in MVP voting. Following a 2011 season that saw Prince win his 2nd Silver Slugger and again finishing 3rd in MVP voting, Prince signed a 9 year 214 million dollar deal with the Tigers, the same team his dad signed to play for 30 years earlier.
Prince had a above average run with the Tigers, his best year was in 2012 when he won the Home Run Derby, Silver Slugger, helped the Tigers win the AL Central, and the American league pennant, falling just short of a ring. Injuries derailed the rest of Prince's career after what may of been the hottest start to a career. He got traded to the Rangers at the end of 2013 season and had season ending neck surgery the following season in 2014. 2015 seemed like a new version of Prince, a form of his old self as he won the Comeback Player of The Year Award. A discovery of herniated discs in his neck put an end to Prince's career in 2016. A short, but action packed career.
So why do this father son duo of sluggers hate each other. Well Cecil was Prince's agent when he was drafted, or so Cecil thought. It was never in paper or agreed upon by Prince, but Cecil took $200,000 of Prince's 2.4 million dollar signing bonus with the Brew Crew and never asked Prince. This happened in 2002 when Prince was drafted. In a 2004 interview when asked about his relationship with his father, Prince stated "He's dead to me". So why did Cecil need this money so badly if he was a big leaguer for over a decade and at one time was the highest paid player in history, well like any good mob movie it has something to do with gambling and goomahs. It is stated that Cecil had many gambling debts to casinos in Atlantic City, specifically to Trump Casino. Also, some domestic issues were starting to take their tolls on Cecil. I do not know what $200,000 would do to millions of dollars of gambling debt. My only thought is that like a true gambler, he had an epic 12 leg parlay that simply could not lose.
Cecil is also on the record for saying that the reason his son was such a sought after prospect was because of his last name. Definitely not because he hit .524 with 13 doubles, 10 home runs, 41 RBIs, and 47 runs in his senior year of high school. So Cecil so far has stolen a good chunk of money, and said his son is only good because of his career accomplishments. Cecil and Prince did not speak for a long period of time, but are now on speaking terms. Their relationship was rekindled in 2019 when they made a cook book about BBQ featuring another large home run hitting lefty, David Ortiz. Its hard to put big boys together in a room and not bond over a love for food.
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