Prince no longer eating like a king
Prince Fielder is the youngest player who has ever hit 50 home runs. You'd think that would make him stick with exactly what he was doing.
But get this: The 260-pound first baseman is now a vegetarian. His wife's book on how animals are slaughtered for food was the impetus for the change, Fielder says.
"After reading that, [meat] just didn't sound good to me anymore," Fielder told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It grossed me out a little bit. It's not a diet thing or anything like that. I don't miss it at all."
The side effect could be good, knowing that a ballooning physique runs in the family. His father Cecil could never be classified as svelte during his career. Being lighter should also help Prince's defense. And it doesn't hurt in the pocketbook – he'll be a huge bargain at $670,000 this season before being eligible for arbitration next season.
And so far, so so. He's hitting .278 this spring with one homer. While Prince's wife Chanel is all for the changes, she'll only go so far.
"My wife said that if I lose some power, she's cooking me a big steak," Fielder told the Journal Sentinel.
Other storylines in Brewers camp:
- Other than Derrick Turnbow and Brian Schose, the Brewers bullpen is totally new for 2008, with tons of veteran help. Eric Gagne will make at least $10 million as the closer, huge money for the small-market Brewers.
- NL Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun moved from third base to the outfield, and Bill Hall moved from the outfield back to third base, and the Brewers acquired former Gold Glove winner Mike Cameron, moves that manager Ned Yost hopes strengthens what was one of the worst defenses in the league last season.
- Yovani Gallardo, who went 9-5 as a rookie starter last season, probably won't break camp with the Brewers, rehabilitating a knee injury. But he should be up by mid-April.
Photo: Prince Fielder hit 50 home runs in 2007, his second full season in the majors. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
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Comments
Hey Scott - Where did you get your stats for Fielder’s preseason? He’s hitting .278 and has one home run according to MLB.com. His slugging percentage isn’t even above .390.
It’s not that the meaning of the numbers matter. I’m just a fan of accuracy.
Fixed - and thanks for the heads-up, Steve. If anybody else out there sees something that needs a correction (or if you just have a tip or something you’d like to see covered), please let me know. (baseball.guide@about.com).
SK
Nice article, Scott…but the Brewers’ reliever is named Brian Shouse (not Schose). Thought I’d mention this in case nobody else had pointed it out.