Prince Fielder Rumors: Free Agent Portrayed as Mythical Hero in 'The Book'

The book on free agent first baseman Prince Fielder is that he's not only one of the best sluggers in baseball, but that he is possibly on his way to becoming one of the best sluggers in baseball history.

No, really. There actually is a book on Fielder, and it does say these things. 

You won't be surprised to hear who authored this book. It was authored by his agent, Scott Boras. Or, at least, it was authored by Boras' people.

This book is not for sale to the general public, mind you. Courtesy of ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick, we know that "The Book" on Fielder is only for general managers, team owners and select members of the media.

But naturally, Fielder got a copy too. According to Boras, he loves it.

"He told me, 'I don't have much in my man cave—just my Silver Slugger [Awards] and some other things I've done. But this book is going in my man cave.' I figure if we made it into his man cave, it held high standards," said Boras.

So what exactly is in "The Book?"

As you might expect, things that make Fielder sound like some kind of baseball hero, one sent from the heavens to rescue teams in need of a middle-of-the-order power threat. As long as they're willing to pay for his services, of course.

Per Crasnick, "The Book"'s highlights include things like Fielder's durability (959 games played in the last six seasons) and his already gaudy home run totals. He has 230 home runs at the age of 27, a feat accomplished by him and three Hall of Fame first basemen: Jimmie Foxx, Orlando Cepeda and Harmon Killebrew.

Not surprisingly, there are also projections. If you believe "The Book," Fielder will have 400 homers, 1,000 RBIs and 1,000 walks by the time he's 32 years old. Only Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews, Mel Ott and Babe Ruth have managed to do that.

Pretty impressive stuff, and the book itself is an impressive piece of work. Crasnick wrote that it's "encased in a silver aluminum antimicrobial binder and features black cardstock dividers, metal rivets and the Boras company logo emblazoned in the lower left-hand corner of the cover."

As a total package, it's a book that sends one message and one message only:

"Give this man a ton of money. Now!"

To be sure, Boras didn't need to put together a snazzy volume of Fielder's merits in order to ensure that the man will be paid. Fielder is not an unsung hero who has been kept in the shadows since bursting onto the scene as a rookie in 2006. He's a man who has hit 50 home runs in a season and has been a consistent presence in MVP discussions since 2007.

There aren't many guys like this to go around, and the one man who could be compared to Fielder, Albert Pujols, is off the market.

But hey, putting together "The Book" can't hurt Fielder's cause. If a general manager truly buys into Boras' glorified representation of his client, it may mean a few more millions, or maybe even another year or two on the length of the contract.

That would be nice, but it's just as likely that the book will do nothing. At least one GM thinks that this is all about Boras doing what's best for Boras.

"This is as much about client retention as anything else," said the GM, who requested anonymity. "This is the client saying, 'Boy, is Scott working for me or what?"'

Apparently, Boras is working for his clients, which should not come as a surprise. There's a reason Scott Boras has a reputation for being, well, Scott Boras. It's because he goes all-out, and money tends to fall from the sky when he does.

Sooner or later, this money will rain on Prince Fielder. Then all he'll have to do is prove that he is worth it.

To do that, he'll have to live up to his legendary character in "The Book."