Wearing a neck brace and joined by his two young sons and Rangers team mates, the six-time All Star Fielder said his body would no longer allow him to play.
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At one point during the news conference, Fielder wiped away tears and said, “Shoot, I thought I was just going to cry in the auto”.
Retirement announcements are always sad, but they are particularly rough when the player leaving his sport clearly has no desire to do so.
“The kids actually love baseball more than Prince”.
“The highest praise I can give him is he’s our teammate”, Banister said. ‘You rarely see him like that’.
Teammates and coaches attended Fielder’s farewell media conference.
“The doctors told me that with two spinal fusions, I can’t play major league baseball anymore”, Fielder, 32, said.
His sons – one who turns 12 next week and the other 10 – sat with him at the podium, mostly with their heads down and also shedding tears.
Prince Fielder #84 of the Texas Rangers talks with the media after doctors recommended Fielder to end his baseball playing career on August 10, 2016 in Arlington, Texas.
He returned in 2015 and captured the American League Comeback Player of the Year Award after batting.305 with 23 home runs and 98 RBIs. He then struggled throughout this year, hitting a career-low.212 with eight homers and 44 RBIs in 89 games until finally getting an exam three weeks ago while the team was in Los Angeles.
Fielder played in only 42 games his first season in Texas in 2014 after a first spinal fusion surgery. In fact, quality of life would appear to be an issue here, because later in the press conference, Fielder said he went through some tests and couldn’t even walk in a straight line. He has four years remaining on a nine-year, $214 million contract.
While no longer playing, Fielder didn’t formally retire, meaning the Rangers would have him on the 60-day disabled list during the regular season but would have to add him to their 40-man roster each offseason until the end of the contract. He was traded to the Rangers in November 2013, just two years into the deal.
Prince Fielder had his fair share of big hits while playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers.
“When the game is taken away from you like that, I don’t think that it’s easy to handle”, 37-year-old Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre said.
‘She wouldn’t let me get down on myself at the house.
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Fielder, Dallas News reported, said: ‘I want to thank my wife [Chanel]. “As soon as I get this (neck brace) off. Hopefully we can win the World Series and pop some champagne”.
