Cecil Fielder indicated at the time his son, Prince, signed a nine-year, $214 million contract with the Tigers, the widely-reported strained relationship between the two had improved.
That has changed.
At his induction into the Ted Williams Hitters Hall of Fame in Tampa on Friday, Cecil said of his son, in comments that appear on the Tampa Bay Times website: "As a father, of course you're proud of what your son's been able to accomplish on the field. But as a father, you also worry about how he is growing as a man. How - and I want to say this correctly - he is communicating with everybody that had something to do with how he got to where he is. As for that part of my son, I think we're all disappointed."
Cecil said he will not attend Tiger games because when he went to a game in Atlanta to see Prince a few years ago he was asked to leave by security.
Prince Fielder dodged questions about his relationship with his father at the news conference announcing his signing with the Tigers.
This is the ultimate case of sour grapes. Cecil Fielder signed a six-year, $35 million contract with the Tigers in the 1990s. It was the biggest contract in the history of baseball at the time. It's been well-documented how he squandered all the money away. Included in those reports is he took a big piece of Prince Fielder's original signing bonus with the Brewers.
It's not a secret Prince isn't exactly, well, a prince when it comes to his demeanor, but it's not like that makes him unusual for a premier ball player.
Seems Cecil made his bed here, and his son is making him sleep in it.
This following comment by Cecil about Prince is especially absurd: "We all knew the kid was obese. He had a hard time running to first base without getting tired. You don't transform your body by yourself. You've got to have trainers. You've got to have people cooking for yourself..."
Yeah, like Cecil set a good example in that regard. He was constantly overweight and out of shape as a player. It was a consistent bone of contention for Tiger fans.
Equally as ridiculous is this statement by Cecil: "I know what I did for my son and he knows what I did for him. I'm going to take the high road and stay away from it and not cause any friction."
High road? Stay away from it? Cecil's comments Friday were the complete opposite. He ripped Prince. His kid took the high road. He's stayed away from it.
Prince Fielder's silence about his father at the news conference spoke volumes about how he really feels.
And now we understand why.
Tigers fate depends on younger players. My column in Sunday's Oakland Press: http://bit.ly/zpbu0m