At a press conference Wednesday, Rangers designated hitter and first baseman Prince Fielder announced that he will not be able to resume his career after undergoing neck fusion surgery in late July.
“I can’t play Major League Baseball anymore,” said Fielder, who was placed on the DL last month with a herniated disk in his neck before having surgery.
It was the second season in the last three he has had season-ending neck surgery, also having undergone fusion surgery in 2014. There were already questions about whether Fielder would make a full recovery from this second surgery, which could result in restrictions on his flexibility. After playing a solid full season in 2015, Fielder struggled greatly in 2016, batting just .212/.292/.334 with only eight homers in 370 plate appearances, and he has said that he’s suffered symptoms similar to those he battled in 2014, when he hit just .247/.360/.360.
Nonetheless, the end of Fielder’s career comes as a bit of a jolt. He’s only 32, and he’s under contract through 2020 at $24MM per year. Given that Fielder is medically unable to play and not technically retiring, the Rangers will still owe him $9MM per season through 2020, with $6MM annually coming from the Tigers (as per the terms of the trade that brought Fielder to Texas) and $9MM coming via insurance payments due to Fielder’s inability to play. He’ll also remain on Texas’ 40-man roster each offseason through the end of his deal, though the club will be able to free up room during the season by placing him on the 60-day DL.
The Brewers made Fielder the seventh overall pick in the draft in 2002, with Milwaukee likely imagining that he could become a first baseman and fearsome slugger in the mold of his father Cecil. Despite skepticism from some quarters about his body type, Prince quickly emerged as a serious home-run threat, making it to the big leagues in 2005 in his age-21 season. He swatted an NL-leading 50 home runs in 2007 at the tender age of 23, and joined Ryan Braun as dynamic power threat in the middle of Milwaukee’s lineup. Fielder also proved surprisingly durable, missing only one game in total over the five years spanning 2009-2013. Fielder signed his massive $214MM contract with the Tigers prior to the 2012 season before heading to the Rangers for second baseman Ian Kinsler following the 2013 campaign.
For his career, Fielder clubbed 319 home runs (exactly the number his father hit) while batting an impressive .283/.382/.506 in parts of 12 seasons. He also made six All-Star appearances and finished in the top 20 in league MVP balloting six times.
Fielder’s departure from the sport is the latest in a string of high-profile recent MLB career endings. The Yankees are set to release Alex Rodriguez, who is signed through 2017, and Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira also recently announced he would retire at the end of the season. All three have been among the game’s most prolific sluggers in recent memory.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal first reported that Fielder’s career was ending. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
wow, 1 down year n and injury and u give up.
It’s not “1 down year”; he’s been dealing with the same injury issue to his neck for a few years now.
This is the second time in 3 years hes undergone season ending neck surgery. We don’t know how much that effective everyday life for him. Some guys care about their long term health, and some others don’t want to play anymore once they are terrible
not quite, assclown.
You do realise he’s suffered injuries to his spine, and that his movement in his neck is already substantially reduced from most other people’s? You do realise that he’s putting his life ahead of the final years of his career?
It’s his golden ticket. 96M to not play. Thank goodness for guaranteed contracts.
So you don’t think Fielder wants to play baseball?
You mean more than he’d like to risk paralysis?
You think you know it all? Do some homework, and maybe next time you can make REAL comments. Troll!
He got hurt doing his job. If you got hurt at work and couldn’t ever do your job again wouldn’t you hope your employers took care of you? Especially if you had a contract.
@ caryloyd, The team inked the deal knowing he could get injured. This is why good teams don’t give out large deals to players into their twilight years. The Rangers chose to trade for him knowing what his contract was. Deal with it, they made a bad business decision.
Bad only in hindsight. There was NOTHING in Fielder’s history to suggest that this was likely to happen. Quite the opposite actually as he was probably one of most durable players in baseball over the last decade.
Shame to see Prince go out but life comes before baseball. Hope he is able to properly recover in order to lead a full and productive life from here on out.
As someone who had had Keck surgery once and back surgery 3 times I can feel for the guy. I wish I had the contract he had but you don’t get taken care of like that getting hurt in HS and college. It was hard to walk away when knowing then that if I continued to play I could go paralyzed. If you’ve never suffered that type of injury you have no clue.
Auto correct it should day kneck not Keck.
Twilight years? He is only 32.
Autocorrect. Autocorrect neck
Autocorrect. Autocorrect neck
@angrypoptart99 – are you 8 years old? Dumbest comment I’ve ever seen on here. Take a seat at the kids table and let the adults talk.
Lol
the MDs said: quit. luck of the draw. He’s had surgery on his neck/back in two of the last three years. He had a productive career and made a lot of money,. Hopefully, he will live a long time and enjoy it with good health.
Damn, you’re getting destroyed here. Nice try with the English too.
ur just angry prince ate ur pop-tart and banged ur mom
Too bad Sandoval doesn’t get the hint!
Those are 2 completely different situations…
Oh yeah… Prince fielder could still play a little bit…
Lol
He couldn’t hear over the loud chewing.
Heard loud and clear… Still hold to my statement that Sandoval should also retire as some other washed up veterans have! There’s a time to play and a time to quit playing. It’s unfortunate when injuries decide that for a player… It’s even more unfortunate when a player (Sandoval) can’t see that he’s no longer MLB level talent.
so you’re suggesting Panda walk away from MILLIONS of dollars? kind of unrealistic, isn’t it….especially considering the good years Sandoval had and was being paid very little (in comparison) to what he produced.
I never claimed to be looking out for Pandas best financial interest (I’m sure he’s very well taken care of)! I’m just saying he can’t play… Might as well hang up the cleats! Here’s a suggestion… Maybe he can be declared medically disabled like fielder, get all of his money and still not waste roster space!
an MD would have to make that call. otherwise, it would be stupid for Pablo to retire.
From someone who has faced his own debilitating injury there are times that your body totally betrays you. Despite your best wishes if a doctor tells you that they won’t clear you medically you have little recourse. While it may seem convenient to you I’d doubt seriously that Fielder is just giving up since this injury affects not just his baseball playing days, but his every day life as well.
Wow. I didn’t know having like 3 neck surgeries was considered 1 down yr and giving up
The guy had like 3 neck surgeries done. I don’t consider that giving up
1 down year n and injury actually
How can you actually be this ignorant? I highly doubt anyone who’s made it this far wants to call it quits, especially in this manner, but he needs to protect his health and well being beyond his baseball career, which could be 50-60 years
Your neck is nothing to play around with. He was pretty ballsy to comeback from the 1st one. There’s a myriad of nerves in there, and if the wrong one severed, you’re paralyzed.
This has to be the most insensitive comment I’ve ever seen on here. You think he wants to give up a career doing what he loves and do you think he wants to have to deal with a potentially paralyzingly injury the rest of his life. Money doesn’t cure life’s problems. It may blind you from them for a while but don’t be fooled. That and please read the article, the doctors will not clear him to play. He didn’t give up.
Take your damn ignorance somewhere else. Did you even read the article ignorant Ranger fan? I suppose not.
Sad. He was a good player.
WOW! Tigers sure fleeced the Rangers on that trade. Definitely no doubt a lop-sided trade now.
True but it was time to get that lil beeeetch outta here, in fact that was his nickname lil beeeetch! That drop of the head after every pop up. Those mammoth foul shots to the third base bleachers. Plus it allowed Odor to come up! Imagine if he was still stuck in AAA or God forbid we dealt him
But kinsler is better than odor, and it’s not really close.
Kinsler in Detroit is better than Odor, but Kinsler in Texas is a wash.
And you’re forgetting Profar as well. I’d rather have Profar & Odor than Kinsler.
Kinsler had a positive wRC+ amongst other supporting statistics every season while in Texas, but you prefer a guy who is finally breaking through and not guaranteed to maintain his success and a regular who struggles to get his OBP above .300… k.
Kinsler, Texas career: 7 seasons of 2.5+ fWAR in 8 full seasons, the only exception being his rookie season of 2006. His lowest wRC+ in Texas was 100. His lowest OBP in Texas was .326. His lowest AVG in Texas? .253. He was a plus defender. He stole 172 bags as a Ranger. His final two seasons averaged 16 HR, 72 RBI, 95 R, +2.8 WAR each year.
Odor, career: 4.6 fWAR, may reach his first 2.5-win year this season. Negative defender. Career 100 wRC+ (Kinsler’s worst). Career best of .316 in OBP. Has 21 steals with that career .304 OBP over around 2 and a quarter full seasons’ worth of playing time (340 G, 1335 PA). He’s worse than 2012/2013-Texas-Kinsler and far worse than Detroit-Kinsler or pre-2012-Texas-Kinsler. Odor may have a bright future which could justify moving Kinsler….but they also could have just moved Kinsler off second or moved Odor elsewhere. Kinsler would be a huge upgrade for that team, and they’re trying to win a title today, right now.
While I agree that Kinsler hands-down was/is a better player than Odor/Profar, he was not a team player at all. He refused to move to first(which I understand to an extent), and then said he didn’t think mentoring young players should be part of his job(or something to that effect). A veteran making $15-17M. Made it tough on the Rangers, probably prompting the trade(and they probably don’t sign Choo to lead-off if he stays in Texas). Also, for the last couple of seasons while batting lead-off, he stubbornly swung for the fences with this terrible uppercut swing(and early in the count at that), pulling everything foul if it wasn’t popped up. The trade is probably what he needed, because I’m sure getting in the batting group with Cabrera, Martinez, and Martinez helped him get his stroke back. It is a shame though, because he could hit and his glove was dead-on every night and saved more than a few(Ian was a WAR machine). He and Beltre really made that infield great(and Elvis Andrus very rich).
Kinsler was a malcontent who absolutely hated Jon Daniels, getting him out of that clubhouse was worth it. Plus the Rangers have been the better team and will now be getting $72MM in salary relief. I’d call it a wash.
And you know this how? (Not saying you’re wrong. Just asking)
Kinsler decided to run a scorched earth campaign on his way out of town and just shred the front office, calling out anyone and everyone.
You started hearing reports of him being unhappy and a bear not long before being traded. You saw it starting to bubble up before 2013 spring training when the Rangers asked him to move to first to make room for Profar and he refused, insinuating that the request was essentially signaling him as a “bad player”.
He just seems like one of those guys who you just get sick of listening to complain after awhile and want to move on froml
It was pretty well known after his departure
Hardly fleecing. Just a trade of unwanted players. Detroit wanted out of Fielder’s contract and Texas was sick of Kinsler’s selfish B S.
Fact
Wow, you are so insightful. Tell me more about past trades that weren’t win win for both teams.
way to show your will to compete
You can’t be serious? Neck injuries are no joke
troll account – Tim, Jeff, please ban this clown.
I agree with JAF
How ignorant can someone be? The necks about the most dangerous injury someone could have, both in the present and future
Rule #1 of the Internet: don’t feed the trolls. Come on, people.
Is that you Cecil?
Wow
Kudos to him. Leaving 120M on the table because he knows he isn’t competitive anymore. Best wishes to him in retirement
highly doubt its all being left on the table
Insurance will pick up a large portion.
I doubt he left the full 100+m on the table. It’s more likely both parties agreed to a settlement. One which won’t count towards team salary. If he did leave all that money on the table I’m amazed, and await a follow up article.
I remember Gil Meche retiring, forgoing $12 million because he “signed a contract to earn it” and felt it was the right thing to do. I know he’s not the only one to have left millions behind, but he was the first one that came to my mind. Granted a big difference between $12 mil and $120 mil.
It’s unlikely he left anything on the table. A medical retirement triggers the Rangers opportunity to use his insurance policy, and the Rangers only really pay out what they would have to to reach a buyout deal with him…
He won’t leave any money on the table, baseball players have an effective players union, he’s going to get paid what he contracted to get paid for he gets 100% of his remaining salary
Player’s Union has nothing to do with it. If he retired (non-medically) they wouldn’t have to pay him.
Exactly.. Up to individual players and if they feel like negotiating some type of settlement with their respective teams.
Some have a conscience and will either negotiate a discount, or as mentioned above in Meche’s case? drop the owed sum entirely. Same with what happened with Wayne Garland many years ago when half of his 10y deal was still owed and his torn rotator cuff was impossible to pitch through after multiple surgeries and attempts. There are others have named before here, tho many more who have insisted on every red dime..
Albert Belle from the Orioles,who collected over 40m while unable to play from 2001-3 seasons due to a hip issue ending his career.. A notorious bad boy along the A-Rod category to begin with and scared Orioles owner Angelos to this day away from signing FA.
You mean players expect that the owners live up to their end of a contract the same way the owners expect the players to?
That sounds terrible.
He’s being medically forced to retire which means insurances is going to pay him a good chunk of that money still owed to him.
Brixton’s comment was posted BEFORE that update was released…
Wow! Not surprised. That neck injury ended perhaps a HOF career
I don’t know about that. He was declining even before the neck issues, and guys like him tend not to age so well (e.g., his dad, Mo Vaughn, Richie Sexson). Good career though, for sure.
You got something to say, say it to my face
Lol
Lol x2
Lol x3
Best comment ever!
end of a era. best wishes
Ha! Have you ever had a neck injury?
Feeling better and better about having Ian Kinsler in Detroit now. :
Nope, there was a clause in the trade that if Fielder couldn’t play anymore that Kinsler goes back to the Rangers as a peanut vendor.
Always sad to hear a player have to retire far too soon because of injury. I still can’t believe Peyton Manning recovered from his neck injury to play a few more years.
If you believe some reports Peyton had help from HGH. Not saying its true but there is some question as to how he was able to recover from a serious injury like that. Perhaps he did use HGH.
There was a report that said the HGH claim was baseless, but I guess you never know.
There was a report, not some reports. And that report was based entirely on what one intern was saying. That intern has been shown to be unreliable. But hey, spread the wild fire anyway.
Does anyone know specifics of the rest of his contract? Are the Rangers still on hook for the $100mm left?
I don’t think so
If he’s retiring due to injury, the Rangers are still on the hook for the remainder. The insurance policy on Fielder covers 50%.
There’s basically $101.4M owed to Fielder (including the rest of this year, excluding the Tigers portion). I’m unclear as to if the insurance only covers the portion of his salary the Rangers are paying, but it would seem odd if it did, considering the policy came with his contract from Detroit. Detroit is on the hook for another $24M. The insurance policy should cover around $50M, which would leave the Rangers with $27.4M over the next 4 years… Assuming that’s how it works. Otherwise, the insurance policy would only pay out $36M. I’m no expert on it though.
Where did you get the info on the 50% insurance policy? There are a lot of different policies on these contracts so just curious.
Never mind found it..
sportsday.dallasnews.com/texas-rangers/rangers/201…
So from what I understand and since it was acquired with Prince in the trade, the rangers will get back $12 mil a year, still get the $6 mil per year from Detroit and will pay him $6 mil per year through 2021.
Listening to the Official Rangers radio station… and reading DallasNews .com
google “prince fielder contract insurance” and click on the first article.
there’s a 90 day deductible period, so they wont get anything for this year. That article was written 2 weeks ago, so the info has been out and around.
That’s what my basic calculations indicate…
No, they will be paying him $9 million per year with insurance picking up $9MM and the Tigers at $6MM per. The Rangers’ 50% coverage policy insurance only covers what the Rangers would have had to pay him, which is $18MM. You can’t get insurance on what someone else is paying.
It they aren’t on the hook then this is a huge win for the Rangers, Arguably the best team in the American League with a top 3 farm system to boot just got to put 100M back in their pockets.
As for Fielder, even though this isn’t the way he wanted to go out he still had a very impactful career. He was a part of that memorable playoff push when Milwaukee acquired C.C. He was a part of some awesome Homerun derby’s & lastly he was probably the most athletic guy to ever play the game at his size, other than Kirby Puckett & Tony Gwynn, maybe Frank Thomas, you haven’t seen a lot of guys of Prince’s size & stature have a productive career like he did.
He was a fan favorite no matter what anyone says, He will be missed in the game.
People don’t like reading my posts… lol
Prince Fielder is owed another $96M after this year.
Detroit has sent/will send $24M to the Rangers per the Kinsler trade.
The insurance will pay 50% (should be $48M) of Fielder’s contract.
The Rangers are on the hook for $24M over the next 4 years.
The article above says they’re responsible for 9 million a year with the Tigers owing the balance, Texas has insurance for their portion of the contract, he gets every penny is due
Also I think this nulls the cash that the Tigers had to send Texas’ way too, am I right?
Nope, that’s part of the trade to get Kinsler. The Tigers still have to send that money (if they hadn’t already) to Texas.
If you read article it tells about contract breakdown and insurance.
The Rangers will pay 9 million a year for the remaining 4 years,Insurance will pay 9 million a year for the 4 years and Detroit will pay 6 million a year for the 4 years. His contract was guaranteed for the 96 million
Actually the Rangers will only pay 6. The insurance was for 50% of the total contract and the Rangers received that in the trade for Fielder as Detroit had purchased that with the original signing. So the insurance pays $12mil, Detroit pays $6 and the Rangers pay $6.
No, the insurance only covers what the Rangers had to pay which is $18MM per season. The Rangers can’t take out an insurance policy on Detroit’s part of the salary. It is Texas – 9, Detroit – 6, Insurance – 9.
And this is where I disagree with what has been written. Evan Grant is the only one to report on the money and everybody has linked to him. Detroit got an insurance policy that covered 50% of his salary and that got transferred to Texas in the trade, this was reported earlier before Prince got hurt. If that is the case, the insurance would still pay 1/2 of his total salary which would be 12mil. Detroit also pays more in the latter years than this. I think they owe 6, 7, 7, 7, or something to that affect. But we could all argue this back and forth all day long and we will never know as the Rangers don’t have to report it and probably never will.. Either way people are paying a lot of money for somebody that can’t play. Wish I could get that gig.
No problem. Go have several 40 HR seasons and u too can get a deal like Prince
You wish you could get two discs in your spine surgically fused to the point you can’t move your neck or do your job anymore? Wow, you are a real masochist.
Tied with his father with 319 home runs.
wow
Missed your comment earlier but noticed the same coincidence.
Sorry to hear that about Prince. Have always enjoyed watching him play, but his long term health is more important!
well said
Wow…that’s horrible.
I can’t believe the people bashing him and saying he is giving up. As was mentioned he is walking away from a lot of money. If he was playing hurt and not producing he would get criticized for just collecting a paycheck. These guys do make a lot of money, but sometimes they just can’t please people no matter what.
He’s not walking away from a penny
MMB and others, look at the comment’s time and consider when this post was most recently updated before correcting people…
Yeah, when I first commented this post was only about 2 sentences long and said he was retiring. I already corrected myself below.
Thanks Kayrall.
Isn’t he in the middle of a ridiculous contract? How can he be ok with retiring? Also, geez so many of the previous generation of players is retiring this year? Crazy!
Did you say the same about Kirby Puckett too? God, you are stupid.
Maybe he wants to guarantee himself he’ll be able to walk for the rest of his life? I imagine we’ll get details in the days to come about the neck injuries he’s been fighting for a while now; considering the money he’s leaving on the table, you have to think it was strongly advised by medical people that he walk away while he can.
Because his health and quality of life comes first. He’s still made more than many guys that have played the game.
because MLB contracts are fully guaranteed, so because Fielder is retiring to do medicals, he still gets paid
Yeah, I guess I didn’t really think about the aspect when I made my comment. Looks like he still gets his money.
I wasn’t suggesting he keep playing by any means, there’s no way it’s safe with the neck. I was just surprised he would officially retire, because that would mean no $, which it has now come out he didn’t, so it makes perfect sense to me. I hope he is ok. Sorry I worded my previous comment a little wrong.
Wow, outta left field!! As a Ranger fan, yea it helps our franchise but still cant help but feel bad for the guy. Always remember that pitch he took from Chavez like a boss after that whole Odor-Bautista dust up… Thanks Prince!!
Kudos to a great career from a guy who was genuinely an elite ballplayer for a while. Shame it had to end this way, but neck injuries generally mean its the end, especially for a guy trying to violently swing a bat.
Only legit question here is: are the Rangers on the hook for that contract, or did they insure it? Could massively handicap them if they have to keep him on the books.
It had to be insured, especially after 2014. JD is too smart to let something like that happen.
Neck injuries are nothing to mess with. One wrong move and you can end up in a wheel chair for the rest of your life. He’s earned a lot of money over his career and I respect him for walking away instead of playing at diminished level and potentially risking his future way of life.
Exactly.
He sure did decline in a hurry. Loved watching that guy in his prime. He was a beast like his dad. Crazy thing to me was he was so big but moved so quickly at first. He was a gold glove first baseman when some would say he was over weight. Good luck on whatever the future holds for you. Prince!
He has a very serious neck injury. He didn’t decline.
Pujols is in decline.
Big difference.
Always gotta be that one person that tries to correct someone huh? Congrats on being that guy. He still was in decline. May be because of the injury but his numbers have not been that good the last year or two. Because of injury? Yes but it’s still a decline. So go ahead and try to correct someone else. I don’t see why you’d feel the need to correct me lol. I feel terrible his career ended this way. Loved watching him play especially how good he handled first base. I wish him nothing but the best. You are correct about Pujols though, that’s a true decline and has nothing to do with injury! Can’t believe he has as many years left in his contract as he does. It’s like 5 years left or something like that right?
Actually Pujols has had foot issues so you can’t call it a decline either because it is from a physical ailment………(tongue in cheek)
And knee surgery. Didn’t Pujols hit 40 bombs last year? Currently 3rd in the AL with 87 RBIs this year.
Thronson5, you’re wrong about his numbers.
Here is his line from last year .305/23/98
He has had two down years in his career, this year and 2014 (when he only played 42 games). I think you are looking at a different players numbers or something.
exactly when did Prince win a GG? watching him in the field for Texas the last three years was painful.
Makes you wonder if David Wright considers retirement too. Hasn’t had two neck surgeries, but still has a serious back issue on top of the neck injury.
Congrats to Prince on a successful career!
Sad to hear he’s a Fun player to watch. I wish him the all the best.
Glad I got to see him play at Wrigley this year. Been a fan of his since high school. Too bad.
A little surprising considering what he’s owed. I have to wonder if he’s going to also get a Special Advisor role, something to start his post playing career.
Prince Fielder fans, does Prince have the personality and polish necessary to work in broadcasting or is he more likely to excel in a special advisor or coaching role?
I think he does!
A real shame. Time for David Wright to follow suit with all of his injuries as well.
I guess Gallo has somewhere to go now
Next year, sure. Moreland will be gone, also. Profar/Gallo LF/1B platoon??
And to think he almost got traded for Lucroy. or another player because he was blocked.
Prince looks like he’ll finish his career with the exact same 319 career homers and just 20 more RBI than Cecil in about 900 more career plate appearances..
Prince was probably the more valuable player according to most advanced metrics and I agree that he was but found it surprising that each Fielder finished with exactly 319 career home runs..
What are the odds that Jadyn and Haven both make it to the Bigs and reach 319 HRs?
Wow. A bright career cut short. Best of luck in the future Prince and with your health.
The Brewers really dodged a bullet back in 2011. I’m sure they’re even more thankful today they didn’t offer him anything close to a 9-year $214 million deal. That’s crippling for small market teams.
Prince Fielder is medically unable to play, Lincecum pitching in minors, A-Rod retiring, Griffey Jr’s number retired…there goes my childhood, time to grow up.
The neck, much like the head (concussion), is not something to mess with. Prince has made enough to take care of his children and his grandchildren. Health comes first. If this is, indeed, it then I wish the big guy all the best.
Damaged goods! Send him back! Wait…this isn’t the Marlins.
Always enjoyed watching Prince play the game.
Hate this for him. What a sad way to go out. Thanks for the hard work you put in Prince. It was a joy to watch you play.
This is just terrible. His career is over far far too soon. Maybe the Rangers will do something similar to what the Yankees are going to do with A-Roid and hire him as an advisor. Whatever happens, I wish him the best of luck in his post playing days.
I would be willing to bet that if he wants to The Rangers can find a way to keep him around the game, and my guess is that exactly what will happen
That’d be nice. He is a good guy, player, and well liked by teammates.
I always thought Fielder’s career would end because his knees would give out… that’s a “legit” baseball injury that a lot of bigger ballplayers go through. This is a sucky way to have your career end… neck problems that he had aren’t especially common and obviously this is way premature. I’m bummed for him. The dude could freakin hit a ball and was a lot of fun to watch.
These are Texas Rangers team doctors, or multiple independent physicians? Not that I’m suggesting that both parties have a lot to gain from this suddenly agreeable, dramatic turn of events…
really man… the guy clearly isn’t quitting baseball because he wants to. watch his press conference
What does that have to do with the potential for conflict of interest in the assessment? If Prince Fielder does not want to retire -which isn’t how it sounded a week ago- then my question remains, is this a Rangers-backed prognosis or something confirmed by multiple outside physicians.
Either way, it seems sudden and dramatic, given other athletes’ ability to rehabilitate similar injuries.
It’s an honest question; we know players/organizations finagle the system, and it’s exactly because there are self-interests involved. A month ago the Rangers would have loved to dump Fielder, a week ago Fielder was giving interviews that raised questions about his desire to play anymore…
And now, all of a sudden, there’s a dramatic determination that would seem to satisfy from those perspectives all parties involved, so it’s an important distinction when history demonstrates that athletes rarely accept such catastrophic diagnoses with such little resistance and organizations have manipulated the systems at their disposal.
So you think the Rangers would rather pay $9MM and get nothing instead of paying $18MM for healthy Prince Fielder? It’s not always a conspiracy.
it’s a question that doesn’t apply at all to prince fielder. doctors say he can’t play so that means that the team and him facilitated some kind of retirement? no, it means he’s medically disabled and can’t play anymore. He clearly isn’t ready to retire bits being forced to
Read the CBA and the way medical advise/treatment is handled before deciding there is a vast conspiracy. Also you are assuming an awful lot saying “given other athletes’ ability to rehabilitate similar injuries.”. Do you know the EXACT severity of his injury in comparison to others? Have you seen his medical reports and are able to compare? If not then you have know idea if it is similar or not.
Sad…and makes me scared for David Wright (though of course the situations aren’t identical).
(I was hesitant to read the comments because I figured there would be a lot of nastiness, but, for the most part, well-done, MLBTR readers.)
Yeah. There were a couple fools but that’s about it.
All other crap aside, the Rangers are a better team on the field and during the game without him.. Too bad.
You do know that he hasn’t retired; He’s just “medically disabled” (ESPN App). He can still collect $100,000,000+.
as big as Prince is, he was still a great player…so why can’t pablo sandoval do the same?!
have doctors said Pablo’s injuries are serious enough to force him quit? what is the obsession with Panda in this forum? Yes…it was a bad contract but it was the Red Sox who offered him the contract, NOT the Giants. Boston can afford it. It was the Angels who came after Hamilton with money and not Texas. Doctors have cleared Josh to continue to play but not Fielder.
Fielder is still collecting $24MM per year for the next five years. Really rude and greedy of him to be honest. “I cannot play but I’ll still take my pay.”
Yes, that’s a lot of money left on the table, but to collect 100% of it for not playing? That’s just terrible.
That’s the bargain the Tigers and Rangers both signed on for. Injuries are part of the game and keep in mind, MLB forced Fielder (and many others) to play for less than market value for several years because FA rules are set up to favor the team for the first 5-6 years of a players life. After that, it’s the choice of a team to give a player a long term, guaranteed contract.
Yes. You’re smart. Because baseball is all about money, and not about who men are, how they feel, and how lives are lived.
.
I’m surprised that there’s as much animosity for him as I am reading. Fielder never had a reputation for dogging it or mailing it in. And this isn’t some sort of Carl Pavano/Yankees run, with a series of bizarre injuries and half-hearted attempts at rehab. He’s got a serious physical problem which isn’t going to go away and apparently precludes him from safely continuing to play. And he has a guaranteed contract–which is partially insured. It stinks for everyone, but there are no bad guys here.
Would people feel better if this were Prince’s contract year and he was forced to retire?
I agree
Huge loss for Baseball.
Quite some time ago, in a small suburb outside of Orlando, there was a little league baseball field right next to the apartments where I lived. One morning in the off season, I was out walking and saw a dad hitting fly balls to his young son, always a good thing to see. I watched for a minute before it dawned on me… that was friggin’ Cecil Fielder! He acknowledged me and then asked if I wanted to shag some flies… well, yes!! He loaned me a glove and pitched to his son, named Prince, while I shagged flies in the outfield. Cecil was really nice, Prince was a kid and was really shy… One of my favorite baseball memories ever. I truly hate it when any MLB career gets cut short by injury.
Great story!
Wow!
Too soon — this will always be sad — for men who succeed so greatly in MLB..
Thank you for your years, Prince Fielder..
You were fun to watch, and your stats speak for yourself.
Does anybody understand why the need to have him on the 40man/60 day DL constantly? If they waive him, would Texas lose the insurance money maybe?
I would guess that he has to be on the DL to collect the insurance money. If they waived him, the Rangers would be on the hook for the full amount and not able to collect. That is something that needs to be collectively bargained as that takes a spot away from an able bodied player.
I believe if he’s on the 60 day DL you can add somebody to the 40 man to take his spot.
So if he’s on the 60 day he doesn’t count. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Oz is correct about insurance…he must stay active for them to cover and you are correct that they will just 60 day him constantly and that keeps a spot open.
Correct, but the DL doesn’t apply in the offseason, so someone will need to be DFA’d or kept unprotected each offseason to keep Fielder on the 40 man. It’s a moot point during the season, but from October-March, he’s taking a roster spot from someone else, which I believe is what Oz is referring to
All the people saying he “gave up” please realize he had spinal fusion surgery once N now will again… U don’t come back from that. It Ended my career at 18 when I was heavily touted before. I never hit a field again. The fact he came back after one and put it ALMOST average numbers shows his will power and abilities. It’s sad, but hopefully he keeps healthy
He did good last year.