Detroit Tigers: 10 Fun Facts About Superstar Addition Prince Fielder

I suppose fate may have played a role in the recent signing of Prince Fielder to a nine-year deal. 

No one inside or outside of Detroit thought Prince Fielder had even a slim chance to sign with the Tigers.  After Martinez went down for the season, most fans and members of the media assumed they would go after a cheaper, less permanent option.

While most fans know that Prince spent much of his youth in Detroit, there is still a lot to learn about our new slugging first baseman. 

Here are 10 things you may or may not know about the newly acquired Prince Fielder.  Enjoy!

10. May 9, 1984

Prince Fielder was born on May 9, 1984 in Ontario, California.

You may be wondering what else interesting happened on this day 27 years ago.   The average price of gas around this time was $1.10, an average movie ticket went for as much as $2.50, and the average cost of a new house was $86,730. 

Also, the longest game in American League history came to an end on this day, as the Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers clashed from 7:30 pm to 12:59 am.  The game was stopped due to a league curfew and resumed on the 9th.  The White Sox would go on to win via a walk-off home run in the 25th inning by a score of 7-6.  The game lasted an incredible 8 hours and 6 minutes. 

Ah, those were the days.

9. McDonald's Commercial

At the young age of eight, Prince Fielder starred in a commercial with his father advertising the new triple cheeseburger they were offering.

In the commercial, Prince strikes out his father in an epic fashion, and then they both walk off into the sunset on their way to, you guessed it, McDonald's. 

Maybe we will see Prince in a McDonald's commercial again soon.  You never know.

8. High School Years

Prince had an illustrious senior year in high school when it came to his baseball production. 

As a senior at Eau Gallie High School in Florida, he hit a whopping .524 with 13 doubles, 10 homers and 41 RBI. There are absolutely no questions as to why this young man was drafted at such a high level.

7. Minor League

After being drafted by the Milwaukee brewers with the seventh pick in the first round of the 2002 MLB draft, Fielder immediately began his professional career in the minor leagues.  The numbers he put up from 2002 to 2005 were impressive to say the least.

2002: Ogden Raptors—40 games, .390 BA, 10 home runs, 41 RBI

2002: Beloit Snappers—32 games, .241 BA

2003: Beloit Snappers—502 at-bats, .313 BA, 27 home runs, 112 RBI (Midwest League MVP, USA Today Minor League Player of the Year, All Star Futures Game Participant)

2004: (AA) Hunstville Stars—497 at bats, .272 BA, 23 home runs

2005: (AAA) Nashville Sounds—378 at bats, .291 BA, 28 home runs

Fielder moved up relatively quickly through the Brewers' farm system.  He was one of the youngest players on every team he played for from 2002 through 2005.  He only played a partial season in Nashville in 2005, as he was brought up to Milwaukee for 39 games.  However, Fielder moved back down to triple A for a little while to improve his defense before he would be brought back to the big league organization for good. 

*On a side note, many Tigers fans may be unaware that the Nashville Sounds used to be an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers in the mid-80s. 

6. "Minor" Uniform Issue

While spending the majority of his 2005 season with the Nashville Sounds, Fielder ran into a slight problem with his uniform.

The Sounds informed him that he would have to wear number 66; at the time, uniforms were numbered according to size, and the Sounds did not have any other uniform that would fit the hefty first baseman. 

On a side note, there was one jersey handed out that was larger than that of Fielders.  It was number 68 and was worn by Ozzie, the Nashville Sounds mascot.  (Here is a link to the Nashville Sounds stadium, which features a picture of Ozzie dawning the uniform.)

5. Middle Name

Prince's full name is Prince Semien Fielder.

Because of its uniqueness and originality, I thought it interesting to determine the etymology of his middle name. 

The name Semien is part of the Amharic language, which is a language that is spoken in Ethiopia, and it actually is translated into one word: "north." 

4. Neck Tattoo

Many fans have wondered if the tattoo, which is located on the left side of Prince's neck and is slightly visible in the photo above, has a specific significance or importance.

Well, for those who are unaware, the tattoo is the Korean form of the word "Prince." 

There is really no special significance for the tattoo.  Apparently, Fielder went into a grocery store and was speaking to a worker there who was of Korean descent.  He was told how to write his name in Korean, so he wrote it down on a piece of paper and decided to go straight to a tattoo parlor to get it done. 

The symbol that appears on his neck looks something like this: "왕자"

3. Suspension

During August of 2007, Fielder got into a heated argument with home plate umpire Wally Bell.  He was accused of "inappropriate and aggressive conduct" with the umpire and was suspended for three games.

Prince went on to say that, "We're both over 250 pounds, so if our stomachs touch, that's going to happen."

It was a rarity to see Prince act in this manner, and his manager at the time, Ned Yost, acknowledged that fact as well. "If Prince is complaining about a call, I'm about 99 percent sure that [the umpire] missed it."

*Quotes taken from espn.com article, which can be viewed here.

2. Worst Season

2010 was certainly a year that Prince Fielder would like to forget if he could. 

Even in his relatively short six-and-a-half-year career, he would see almost every statistic drop dramatically.  Fielder still managed to play in 161 games that season, but he struggled mightily at the plate, hitting a career low .261.

He tied a career high for strikeouts that season as well with 138.  While he did manage to hit 32 home runs, most of those were without runners on base, which also explains his low RBI amount, which was the second lowest of his career at 83. 

He did however, manage to walk a career high 114 times and and had an on-base percentage of .401. 

Oddly enough, many fans of the Milwaukee Brewers were calling for the organization to trade Fielder.  They felt that Corey Hart and Ryan Braun were the true future, and Prince Fielder was weighing their team down, no pun intended. He would go on to have an impressive 2011 season and regain the hearts of Brewers fans everywhere.

1. Best Season

Statistically, Fielder's 2009 and 2011 seasons are very comparable, as he was very impressive in both campaigns. 

However, because of the Brewers' run in the postseason, I felt his most recent season earned the upper hand. Fielder boasted a very impressive .299 batting average and hit 38 home runs during 2011.  Prince also managed to accumulate a career high 120 RBI, which is due in large part to his improved ability to hit with runners in scoring position.  He also improved his mechanics and eye at the plate, as he limited himself to 106 strikeouts, which is a career low for Fielder.

Amazingly, Fielder did not miss one game during the 2011 season.  He has always been very reliable and sturdy, and all Tiger fans are most assuredly hoping this trend will continue. 

*Over the past six seasons, which includes a total of 972 regular season games, Fielder has missed only 13 games.