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The Sports Network TSN
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Say what you want about super agent Scott
Boras, but in the end he always gets his man his money.
The latest example came on Tuesday when Prince Fielder, who some suggested
over the weekend may have to settle for a one-year deal, agreed to a monster
nine-year, $214 million deal with the Detroit Tigers, a team never mentioned
in any kind of talks for the slugger, but one that was always close to his
heart.
Detroit, of course, was home for six-plus years to Prince's father Cecil, who
swatted 51 home runs for the Tigers in 1990. As a kid, Prince actually hit the
ball out of Tiger Stadium when, according to most, father and son were
inseparable.
The relationship between the two has soured since and some had even speculated
this offseason that the younger Fielder wouldn't even entertain offers from
any team his father once played for.
Nine-figure contracts, though, change a lot of people's minds and mend a lot
of relationships. The deal is actually the most expensive handed out this late
in the process, plus the fourth richest in baseball history behind Alex
Rodriguez' two deals and the one Albert Pujols signed earlier this offseason.
Give credit to Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski and owner Mike Illitch
for being so aggressive in the pursuit of Prince Fielder following the
devastating news last week that designated hitter Victor Martinez would be
lost for the season with a torn ACL.
Also never invite Dombrowski to your poker game. Just last week at the team's
winter caravan after the Martinez news broke Dombrowski said Fielder was
"probably not a good fit".
Washington had been rumored to be the front runner all along with teams like
Texas and Seattle lurking, but in the end it was a team out of nowhere that
emerged, similar to the way Philadelphia plucked Cliff Lee last offseason.
Fielder was terrific this past season for the National League Central champion
Milwaukee Brewers, belting 38 home runs with 120 RBI. He's also never hurt.
Last year he was the only player in the majors to play in all 162 games
and despite his bulky presence, he has averaged 160 games in his six full
seasons in the league.
It also creates a nice little dilemma for Tigers manager Jim Leyland, who now
must decide who to pencil in at first base, Fielder or Miguel Cabrera.
How many managers wouldn't mind losing sleep over that little quandary, huh?
Leyland could also toy with the idea of moving Cabrera back across the diamond
to third base, but he wasn't exactly Brooks Robinson when he played there for
the Marlins and may actually be a bit to bulky to handle it these days anyway.
Either way they will both be in the lineup every day, meaning teams in the
American League Central should probably be thanking their lucky stars that
there is an extra wild card team this season.
The Sports Network