New Arrival: Cecil Fielder, DH, Cleveland Baseball
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Card: 2021 Archives 1991 Topps Bazooka Shining Stars Cecil Fielder
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If you are a player on the downward slope of your career, chances are Cleveland is more than happy to come and kick those tires. Enter Cecil Fielder.
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In late 1998, the Angels released Cecil Fielder. At the time he was hitting .241 with 14 HR in 381 at-bats. Those numbers are much less impressive since he was limited to only DH duties. Only 34, it was clear that he was nearing the end of a 13-season career.
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But Cleveland needed a bat to replace Jim Thome, who was lost to injury. So, they signed Fielder. In 35 at-bats for Cleveland he got five hits, one walk and 13 K’s. He was released less than a month later and would never play in the majors again.
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Of course, Cecil Fielder was a great player in his prime, and for a period in the early 90’s he was one of the best offensive players in the game. From 1990-1996 he averaged almost 37 homeruns with a 125 OPS+. This included leading the leagues in homers in both 1990 (50) and 1991 (44) and leading the league in RBI from 1990-1992. Twice, 1990 and 1991, he finished second in MVP voting. Sure, he struck out a bunch, but with that kind of power it was worth it. And the Tigers made sure he was paid what he was worth, and in both 1995 and 1996 he was the highest paid player in the game (at $9.2 million…ha).
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Unfortunately, Fielder did not age well. He had zero value with the glove, and by the time the Yankees traded for him in 1996 he was already on the downward slide, and he would be out of the game just two years later.