It was a great game, a terrific ending, an Opening Day victory nearly stolen away then returned in the bottom of the ninth. But for all the impressive pitches thrown by Justin Verlander and the dramatic winning hit from Austin Jackson, the day began and ended with eyes on The New Guy.
His last name was familiar, his face was familiar, heck, even his thick body was familiar. And when he stepped to the plate and the PA announcer introduced him – “FIELDER!” – the ovation was like deja vu, to fans, to media and to a certain 48-year-old former Tiger, watching on TV in his home in Atlanta.
“Yeah, I’m watching,” Cecil Fielder said via phone when I called. “Just chilling, on the couch, watching the game.”
In a different world, he’d have been here, in Comerica Park, and maybe his face would have been flashing on the giant scoreboard, beaming with fatherly pride. But for whatever reasons that respectfully remain private between them, father and son are not in the same place these days.
And so Prince Fielder, 27, made his debut on his own Thursday afternoon, the opening day of the season, and with his first at-bat he muscled a single into right-center, and with his last at-bat, he sacrificed in a run, and he was officially in the local books, wearing the Detroit uniform that another Fielder once adorned.
“I’m glad he’s there,” Cecil said, from 700 miles away. “That’s a great team. That team has a chance to do great things.”
In his comfort zone
Prince Fielder deserves his own career, and whatever goes on within his family deserves its privacy. But sports exist in the bodies of the players and the minds of the fans, and more than a few Detroiters couldn’t watch young Fielder for the first time Thursday, batting cleanup, and not flash back on his famous dad, who, as a Tiger, once belted 51 home runs in a single season.
A school-aged Prince used to bounce around the locker room in those days, sitting on his father’s stool, munching on postgame food. Now he is a bona-fide major league superstar with kids of his own, the recipient of a $214-million contract, and a huge turnstile turner.
Thursday, he began his own Detroit chapter.
“The fans made me feel real comfortable,” Fielder said after the Tigers’ 3-2 victory. “I took myself out of the equation. It was more about the team.
“It’s always easy when you know you have a good team.”
When asked if he would need time to feel comfortable as a Tiger, he said, “For me spring was enough. The first day I show up and I see Miguel (Cabrera) and Verlander welcoming me…. Once they did that I felt comfortable right away.”
On Thursday, Fielder’s name bought a huge ovation. He singled in the second inning. And in the bottom of the eighth, with the Tigers up, 1-0, he sliced a pop out to centerfield, and Jackson tagged to make it 2-0.
“I didn’t feel pressure,” Fielder said afterward. “I felt excited to play baseball.”
A game of his own
Prince is now part of a big-name roster in a city that hasn’t always had big baseball names. But Fielder, Cabrera and Verlander rival any triple threat on a major league roster.
“Are you glad to be on the same team as Justin?”
“Of course,” Fielder said. “He already no-hit me one time with the Brewers. I’m glad I’m on the other side.”
He smiled, and it’s hard not to look at him and see his dad, whose career many of us covered as well. In saying that, no one is taking away from Prince’s already stellar accomplishments. He did those all by himself.
But playing in Detroit is often different than other places. We embrace the old as we embrace the new, which explains why players from the 1984 championship team were spotted at the park Thursday, even 28 years after that accomplishment.
Cecil Fielder always will be a part of Detroit sports history, just as his son now will make his own name in it. It does seem sad that the father watched the game alone in Atlanta, while the son played in Detroit.
But that is between them.
“I’ll get up there to see a game,” Cecil said before hanging up. “It’ll all work out. Just needs time.”
If it’s possible, you hope it comes true. Baseball’s story renews itself every spring. And Detroit has a Fielder story once again.
Contact Mitch Albom: 313-223-4581 or malbom@freepress.com. Catch “The Mitch Albom Show” 5-7 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760). Also catch “Monday Sports Albom” 7-8 p.m. Mondays on WJR. To read his recent columns, go to www.freep.com/mitch.
It was a great game, a terrific ending, an Opening Day victory nearly stolen away then returned in the bottom of the ninth. But for all the impressive pitches thrown by Justin Verlander and the dramatic winning hit from Austin Jackson, the day began and ended with eyes on The New Guy.
His last name was familiar, his face was familiar, heck, even his thick body was familiar. And when he stepped to the plate and the PA announcer introduced him – “FIELDER!” – the ovation was like deja vu, to fans, to media and to a certain 48-year-old former Tiger, watching on TV in his home in Atlanta.
“Yeah, I’m watching,” Cecil Fielder said via phone when I called. “Just chilling, on the couch, watching the game.”
In a different world, he’d have been here, in Comerica Park, and maybe his face would have been flashing on the giant scoreboard, beaming with fatherly pride. But for whatever reasons that respectfully remain private between them, father and son are not in the same place these days.
And so Prince Fielder, 27, made his debut on his own Thursday afternoon, the opening day of the season, and with his first at-bat he muscled a single into right-center, and with his last at-bat, he sacrificed in a run, and he was officially in the local books, wearing the Detroit uniform that another Fielder once adorned.
“I’m glad he’s there,” Cecil said, from 700 miles away. “That’s a great team. That team has a chance to do great things.”
In his comfort zone
Prince Fielder deserves his own career, and whatever goes on within his family deserves its privacy. But sports exist in the bodies of the players and the minds of the fans, and more than a few Detroiters couldn’t watch young Fielder for the first time Thursday, batting cleanup, and not flash back on his famous dad, who, as a Tiger, once belted 51 home runs in a single season.
A school-aged Prince used to bounce around the locker room in those days, sitting on his father’s stool, munching on postgame food. Now he is a bona-fide major league superstar with kids of his own, the recipient of a $214-million contract, and a huge turnstile turner.
Thursday, he began his own Detroit chapter.
“The fans made me feel real comfortable,” Fielder said after the Tigers’ 3-2 victory. “I took myself out of the equation. It was more about the team.
“It’s always easy when you know you have a good team.”
When asked if he would need time to feel comfortable as a Tiger, he said, “For me spring was enough. The first day I show up and I see Miguel (Cabrera) and Verlander welcoming me…. Once they did that I felt comfortable right away.”
On Thursday, Fielder’s name bought a huge ovation. He singled in the second inning. And in the bottom of the eighth, with the Tigers up, 1-0, he sliced a pop out to centerfield, and Jackson tagged to make it 2-0.
“I didn’t feel pressure,” Fielder said afterward. “I felt excited to play baseball.”
A game of his own
Prince is now part of a big-name roster in a city that hasn’t always had big baseball names. But Fielder, Cabrera and Verlander rival any triple threat on a major league roster.
“Are you glad to be on the same team as Justin?”
“Of course,” Fielder said. “He already no-hit me one time with the Brewers. I’m glad I’m on the other side.”
He smiled, and it’s hard not to look at him and see his dad, whose career many of us covered as well. In saying that, no one is taking away from Prince’s already stellar accomplishments. He did those all by himself.
But playing in Detroit is often different than other places. We embrace the old as we embrace the new, which explains why players from the 1984 championship team were spotted at the park Thursday, even 28 years after that accomplishment.
Cecil Fielder always will be a part of Detroit sports history, just as his son now will make his own name in it. It does seem sad that the father watched the game alone in Atlanta, while the son played in Detroit.
But that is between them.
“I’ll get up there to see a game,” Cecil said before hanging up. “It’ll all work out. Just needs time.”
If it’s possible, you hope it comes true. Baseball’s story renews itself every spring. And Detroit has a Fielder story once again.
Contact Mitch Albom: 313-223-4581 or malbom@freepress.com. Catch “The Mitch Albom Show” 5-7 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760). Also catch “Monday Sports Albom” 7-8 p.m. Mondays on WJR. To read his recent columns, go to www.freep.com/mitch.
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