The Milwaukee Brewers have been built into the kind of team fans 25 years ago could only have dreamed of having: a perennial postseason contender. While owner Mark Attanasio draws criticism for Milwaukee’s low payroll and frequent lack of big free agent signings, there is no denying that the Brewers have been incredibly successful since he bought the club from the legendary Selig Family.
Of course, they did not become contenders overnight. It took years of drafting and developing the right players and making savvy trades when appropriate. One of the first players that they drafted who helped usher in this new era of Brewers baseball was former first baseman Prince Fielder.
Prince Fielder Is a Milwaukee Brewers Living Legend
Milwaukee took Fielder with the seventh overall pick in the 2002 MLB Amateur Draft, the same year that they had the worst season in franchise history, finishing with a record of 56-106. Three years later in 2005, Fielder made his Major League debut.
In 39 games that year, Fielder hit .288/.306/.458 with two home runs and 10 RBI. In 2006, in what would be considered his rookie season, the big first baseman earned the starting job for Opening Day. In his first full Major League season, Fielder hit .271/.347/.483 with 28 home runs and 81 RBI.
It was the 2007 season, though, that established the Brewers’ slugger as one of the best power hitters in the game. That year, he became the youngest player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs, finishing the year with a slash line of .288/.395/.618 with 50 bombs and 119 RBI.
He made his first All-Star team, won the Silver Slugger, and came in third in NL MVP voting.
In 2008, Fielder became one of the key reasons that the Brewers made the postseason for the first time in 26 years. That year, he hit .276/.372/.507 with 34 home runs and 102 RBI.
The following year, Fielder led all of baseball with 141 RBI while slugging .299/.412/.602 with 46 home runs. In 2010, Fielder’s batting average dropped to .261, but he had .402 on base percentage as he led the league with 114 walks. He also hit 32 home runs and had 83 RBI.
2011, Fielder’s last in Milwaukee, saw the Brewers make it all the way to the National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. For his Milwaukee swan song, he hit .299/.415/.566 with 38 home runs and 120 RBI. He also struck out just one more time (107) than he walked (106).
As fans are well aware, Fielder signed with the Detroit Tigers in free agency before finishing his career with the Texas Rangers. Unfortunately, he had to cut his career short due to a neck injury. He finished his Major League career with 319 home runs, the same total as his father Cecil Fielder.
230 of his home runs came during his time with the Brewers, which ranks third in franchise history behind Ryan Braun and Robin Yount.
The Milwaukee Brewers Signed Prince Fielder’s Son, Jadyn Fielder, After the 2024 MLB Draft
Yesterday, it was reported that the Brewers had carried on a bit of baseball tradition. Just as Prince was eventually signed by his father’s former team, the Tigers, so too his son was signed by his former team.
The son of Prince Fielder is joining the Brewers’ organization, a source tells @TheAthletic. The team has signed Jadyn Fielder, who went undrafted out of TNXL Academy in Altamonte Springs, FL. Fielder, 19, plays second and third base.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 25, 2024
As Rosenthal notes, Jadyn Fielder plays second and third base. As one can see, he too has to pop in his bat from the left side of the plate:
Prince Fielder’s son, Jadyn, just casually hitting a 460 foot home run.
Looking like his dad from the left side. #Brewers pic.twitter.com/WR8nxk14FF
— Kyle Malzhan (@KyleMalzhan) June 23, 2023
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