Cecil Grant Fielder (born September 21, 1963) was an American professional baseball player who played as a designated hitter and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was known for hitting the ball a long distance during the 1980s and 1990s. Fielder attended college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He played for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1985 to 1988, then for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan’s Central League in 1989. After returning to MLB, he played for the Detroit Tigers from 1990 to 1996, the New York Yankees from 1996 to 1997, the Anaheim Angels in 1998, and the Cleveland Indians in 1998. While playing for the Yankees, he helped his team win the 1996 World Series against the Atlanta Braves. In 1990, he became the first player since 1977 to hit 50 home runs in a season and the first American League player to do so since Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris hit 54 and 61 home runs in 1961.

Cecil Fielder is the father of Prince Fielder, who also became a top power hitter in MLB. The Fielders are the only father and son in MLB history to both have seasons with 50 or more home runs. They were the only father-son pair to achieve 40 or more home runs in a season until 2021, when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and his father joined them.

Early career

Fielder attended Nogales High School in La Puente, California. In 1981, he was named an All-American while playing baseball for the school's team. He then enrolled at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), where he played for the UNLV Rebels baseball team. Fielder was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 31st round (767th overall) of the 1981 Major League Baseball draft, but he did not sign with the team. In 1982, he was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the fourth round (67th overall) of the Major League Baseball draft and signed with the team. On February 5, 1983, Fielder was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Leon Roberts.

The Blue Jays moved Fielder to the major leagues on July 18, 1985. He played as a part-time first and third baseman for the Blue Jays, sharing playing time with Willie Upshaw and Fred McGriff. Over four seasons with the team, Fielder hit .243 with 31 home runs and 84 runs batted in (RBIs). In his final season with the Blue Jays, he earned $125,000.

Hanshin Tigers

The Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League signed Fielder after the 1988 season, giving him $1,050,000 ($1,968,644 today), which included a chauffeur and a full-time interpreter. Fielder said he chose to go to Japan mainly for the chance to play baseball every day. At the start of spring training, Fielder struggled to adjust to Japan's baseball culture. However, with help from Tiger manager Minoru Murayama and player Junichi Kashiwabara, he became comfortable in the new environment. The Tigers gave Fielder the role of cleanup hitter, which is the last batter in the lineup. Fans admired him and gave him the nickname "Wild Bear," as "wild" represents strength in Japan, and "bear" describes his strong, large appearance. In 1989, Fielder had a batting average of .302, hit 38 home runs, and drove in 81 runs for Hanshin.

Detroit Tigers

On January 15, 1990, Fielder signed a two-year, $3 million contract with the Detroit Tigers. In his first season with the Tigers, Fielder hit .277 while leading the major leagues with 51 home runs and 132 RBIs in 159 games. 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 MLB history—and only the second in the previous 25 years—to reach the 50-home-run mark. No Tigers player had reached that mark since Hank Greenberg hit 58 in 1938, and no Tiger player has reached 50 home runs since. This achievement was a highlight for a team that finished with only 79 wins. Fielder was the first player to hit 50 home runs on a team with a losing record since Ralph Kiner in 1949.

Fielder, whose previous high mark was 14 with Toronto in 1987, surprised many by becoming a powerful hitter. In addition to home runs and RBIs, Fielder led the majors in slugging percentage (.592) and strikeouts (182), and he led the American League in total bases (339). After the season, he finished as the runner-up for the AL MVP Award. In 1990, Fielder also became the ninth major leaguer to record two three-home run games in a season.

Fielder had a successful second season with the Tigers in 1991, batting .261 with 44 home runs and 133 RBIs in 162 games. He again led the majors in home runs and RBIs, and joined Hank Greenberg (1937–38) as the only Tiger players at that time to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons (Miguel Cabrera joined Fielder and Greenberg in 2012–13). Fielder was the runner-up in the AL MVP balloting for the second consecutive year.

On January 29, 1992, Fielder avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $4.5 million contract, which at the time set a record for the highest salary by an arbitration-eligible player. Fielder responded by hitting 35 home runs and leading the league in RBIs (124) for the third consecutive season, becoming the first American Leaguer since Babe Ruth to do so.

During the 1990s, Fielder built a reputation for hitting well in important moments and for power, though the Tigers remained a mediocre team. His team's performance may have hurt his chances with MVP voters. Rickey Henderson and Cal Ripken Jr. narrowly edged him for the AL's MVP Award in 1990 and 1991, respectively. Fans in Detroit gave him the nickname "Big Daddy" because of his big smile, calm personality, and many home runs (as well as his large physical size).

In his six-year tenure with Detroit, Fielder had four consecutive seasons with at least 30 home runs and 100 RBIs. He had 28 home runs and 90 RBIs in 109 games during the 1994 season before it was ended by a player strike, denying him a chance to extend his accomplishments to a fifth season. He also became the first Tiger to hit at least 25 home runs in six consecutive seasons. No player in Detroit history hit as many over a six-year period (219) until Miguel Cabrera hit 227 in 2008–13, and no major league player had more home runs between 1990 and 1995.

Fielder was a member of the All-Star Team in 1990, 1991, and 1993, and was named "Tiger of the Year" by the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America in 1990, 1991, and 1992. He is the only player to receive the award three consecutive years.

On January 8, 1993, Fielder signed a five-year, $36 million contract with the Tigers, making him the highest-paid player in baseball for two seasons (1995 and 1996).

Fielder had a reputation for being a slow baserunner. In 1996, he set a major league record by taking 1,096 games to record his first career stolen base, which occurred on a botched hit-and-run. He stole another base that season and finished his career with two stolen bases over 13 seasons and 1,470 games. Fielder also had a reputation as a below-average fielder, mostly because of his poor speed and range. However, he was considered a competent defensive first baseman when it came to putouts and digging infield assists out of the dirt.

Fielder's massive power was shown by two long home runs:

• He was one of only four players, and the only Tiger, to hit a home run over the left-field roof at Tiger Stadium (the other three were Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard, and Mark McGwire). He hit the homer off Oakland Athletics pitcher Dave Stewart on August 25, 1990.
• He also hit the only home run to ever travel completely out of Milwaukee County Stadium—during either the Braves' Milwaukee history (1953–1965) or Brewers' park history (1970–2000). It was hit off the Brewers' Dan Plesac on September

Later career

Fielder was traded to the New York Yankees on July 31, 1996, for Rubén Sierra and Matt Drews. He batted .260 with 13 home runs and 37 RBIs in 53 games with the Yankees. Fielder's acquisition was important for the Yankees' World Series championship that year, as he won the Babe Ruth Award for most outstanding performance in the 1996 postseason. In 14 postseason games, Fielder hit .308 (16-for-52) with two doubles, three home runs, and 14 RBIs.

Despite requesting a trade at the end of the 1996 season, Fielder stayed with the Yankees in 1997. On July 15, Fielder suffered a broken thumb after a slide during a game against the Cleveland Indians. Surgery caused him to miss eight weeks. He returned to the team on September 15. In 98 games, Fielder batted .260 with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs. In the 1997 American League Division Series, he had one hit in eight at-bats (.125) with one RBI in the Yankees' five-game series loss to Cleveland.

On December 19, 1997, Fielder signed a one-year contract with the Anaheim Angels. He was designated for assignment on August 6, 1998. At the time, he was batting .241 with 17 home runs and 68 RBIs in 103 games. Fielder was released by the Angels on August 10 and signed with the Cleveland Indians four days later. He was released again on September 18 after batting .143 (5-for-35) with no RBIs.

Fielder was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays before the start of the 1999 season. Despite batting .264 (14-for-53) with two doubles, a team-high three home runs, and 11 RBIs in 17 spring training games, Toronto traded for Dave Hollins and Fielder was released after spring training ended. He then retired.

Fielder batted .255, with 744 runs, 200 doubles, 319 home runs, 1,008 RBIs, and a .482 slugging average. He drew 693 walks for a .345 on-base percentage with two career stolen bases. He held the single-season record for most home runs (51) without a single stolen base. This record was later broken by Mark McGwire in 1996 and 1999, when he hit 52 and 65, respectively. He was inducted into the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.

Personal life

In October 2004, The Detroit News reported that Cecil Fielder had problems with domestic issues and gambling. The newspaper used court documents from Fielder’s divorce and a lawsuit from Trump Plaza Hotel and Casinos in New Jersey, which described debts to casinos, credit-card companies, and banks. Later, Fielder sued Gannett, the parent company of The Detroit News, and reporter Fred Girard, claiming they spread false information that harmed his reputation. The lawsuit asked for $25 million in damages. A trial court rejected the lawsuit, and the Michigan Court of Appeals agreed with the decision.

Cecil Fielder’s son, Prince, was a first baseman who played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers. Cecil was involved in Prince’s early career, including helping negotiate his first contract. A disagreement about whether Cecil should receive a standard agent’s fee led to Prince and his family no longer speaking to Cecil. In a 2012 interview, Cecil said he and Prince had recently started talking again, and their relationship was improving. On September 25, 2007, Prince hit his 50th home run of the season, making Cecil and Prince the first father-son pair in Major League Baseball (MLB) history to each reach that milestone. Both have 319 career home runs and are tied for 126th on the all-time MLB home run list.

After managing the Charlotte County Redfish in the South Coast League in 2007, Fielder became the manager of the Atlantic City Surf in the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball in 2008. On March 25, 2011, Fielder was added to the Torrington Titans advisory board.

On October 17, 2024, Fielder was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.