No Prince when it comes to his father
Baseball in the National League Central, and particularly in Milwaukee, isn't much on our radar screen in these parts, but there's an interesting and sort of sad little drama going on there.
Brewer slugger Prince Fielder hit two homers last night against St. Louis -- Nos. 49 and 50, making him the youngest player in major league history to reach that mark (23 years, 139 days to be exact). Willie Mays was the previous youngest ever (24 in 1955) to hit 50.
But Fielder's reflection on his accomplishment and the possibility of winning the National League's Most Valuable Player Award is shaded by his ongoing estrangement from his father, Cecil, a power hitter himself with several American League teams in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Rather than simply bask in the glory of his youngest-ever feat, Prince Fielder (right) said he looked forward to hitting 52 homers so that he would eclipse his father's best (51) and that he wanted to win the MVP because, again, that is something his father never accomplished.
Like most family squabbles, there are two sides to the story. However, it is disheartening to hear a son say as Prince did in a Milwaukee newspaper article: "I don't mind people comparing me to him but I'm a completely different player. One day I want people to mention my name and not have to mention his."
Photo credit: Morry Gash/AP
Comments
What a jerk! Can you imagine Ken Griffey saying that about his dad, or his Godfather? Bond has said some wild stuff, but nothing like this.
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As I said, there are two sides to every family feud .. Cecil has said things that hurt Prince, too. And there's probably a lot more that I have no idea about. But it seems so unnecessary, doesn't it.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: Captain Jack | September 26, 2007 2:21 PM
Bill, it's very sad. Not that it is my place to say anything, but a lot of people I know don't have a father or mother to fall back on.
These two men should end their tiff, and get down to the bottom of their hatred for one another before it is too late.
Forget sports and their numbers, this should be resolved before one of the parties never gets a chance to make amends.
- Anthony
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Amen
-- Bill O
Posted by: Anthony | September 26, 2007 3:10 PM
These idiots who rip Prince do not know both sides of the story. Maybe Cecil was abusive. Maybe Prince really is a stuck up snob. Either way, shut up.
Posted by: Jones | September 26, 2007 3:57 PM