Cecil Fielder

Cecil Grant Fielder (/ˈsɛsəl/; born September 21, 1963) is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). Fielder was a power hitter in the 1980s and 1990s. He attended college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays (1985–1988), in Japan’s Central League for the Hanshin Tigers (1989), and then in MLB for the Detroit Tigers (1990–1996), New York Yankees (1996–97), Anaheim Angels in 1998, and Cleveland Indians in 1998. With the Yankees, he won the 1996 World Series over the Atlanta Braves. In 1990, he became the first player to reach the 50–home run mark since George Foster hit 52 for the Cincinnati Reds in 1977 and the first American League player to do so since Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris famously hit 54 and 61 in 1961. This is also one of the very first autographed cards I ever received when dad and I wrote to Cecil Fielder, Roberto Alomar and Todd Van Poppel.

Basics

• Positions
  • First Baseman
  • Designated Hitter
• Major League Debut
  • July 20, 1985
  • Fielder was the starting first baseman at Exhibition Stadium against the visiting Oakland Athletics for the Toronto Blue Jays. He went 1 for 1 with a double and a walk. He was then pinch hit for by Willie Upshaw in the Bottom of the Six.¹
• Last MLB Appearance
  • September 13, 1998
  • Fielder was the starting Designated Hitter for the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field hosting the Chicago White Sox. He went 1 for 2, and was pinch hit for by David Justice in the 7th inning.²

Teams Played for

• Anaheim Angels – American League
• Butte Copper Kings – Pioneer League – (Rookie)
• Cleveland Indians – American League
• Detroit Tigers – American League
• Florence Blue Jays – South Atlantic League – (A)
• Hanshin Tigers – Japan Central League – NPB
• Kinston Blue Jays – Carolina League – (A)
• Knoxville Blue Jays – Southern League – (AA)
• New York Yankees – American League
• Syracuse Chiefs – International League – (AAA)
• Toronto Blue Jays – American League³

Awards and Honors

• Sporting News AL Player of the Year (1990)
• All Star (1990, ’91, & ’93)
• The Sporting News Silver Sluggers (1990 & ’91)
• Babe Ruth Award (1996)
• World Series Champion (1996
• 50 Home Run Club

Career Stat Line

• .255/.345/.482
• 319 Home Runs

Club Baseball Jobs

• Charlotte County Redfish – South Coast League
  • Manager – 2007
  • 24 – 65 (.270 win percent)
• Atlantic City Surf – Can-Am League
  • Manager – 2008
  • 51 – 43 (.543 win percent)⁴

Transfers

• June 15, 1982
  • Signed by the Kansas City Royals out of the 1982 Draft
• February 5, 1983
  • Traded from Royals minor league system to Toronto Blue Jays
    • Royals received Leon Roberts
• December 22, 1988
  • Sold by Toronto Blue Jays to Hanshin Tigers of the Japan Central League for $750,000.⁵
• January 15, 1990
  • Used escape clause from Hanshin Tigers to gain free agency.
  • Signed to Detroit Tigers as a Free Agent.
• July 31, 1996
  • Traded from Detroit Tigers to New York Yankees
    • Tigers received Ruben Sierra and Matt Drews
• December 19, 1997
  • Signed as a free agent to Anaheim Angels.
• August 13, 1998
  • Signed as a free agent to Cleveland Indians⁶

Injured List

• July 16 – September 16, 1997
  • Fractured right thumb sliding head first into home plate.

1. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1985/B07200TOR1985.htm ↩︎
2. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1998/B09130CLE1998.htm ↩︎
3. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=fielde001cec ↩︎
4. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/11353/jobs/ ↩︎
5. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/cecil-fielder/#_ednref34 ↩︎
6. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/11353/tranx/
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