Cecil Fielder

No Detroit Tigers player had turned the mark since Hank Greenberg slugged 58 in 1938, and no Tiger player has reached 50 home runs since.

On the last day of the Tigers' season at Yankee Stadium, Fielder hit his 50th and 51st home runs to become the 11th player in MLB history – and only the second in the previous 25 years – to reach the 50 home run plateau.

Cecil Grant Fielder (born September 21, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player 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 was named an All-American while playing for the school's baseball team in 1981.

He enrolled at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), where he played college baseball for the UNLV Rebels baseball team.

Fielder was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 31st round of the 1981 amateur draft, but did not sign.

He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the fourth round of the 1982 amateur draft, and this time did sign.

In 1983, he was traded by the Royals to the Toronto Blue Jays for Leon Roberts.

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.

The Blue Jays promoted Fielder to the major leagues on July 18, 1985.

Fielder became a part-time first and third baseman for the Blue Jays, sharing playing time with Willie Upshaw and Fred McGriff.

Fielder had hit 31 home runs with 84 runs batted in during four seasons.

With Toronto, he earned $125,000 per season.

Fielder, whose previous high mark was 14 with Toronto in 1987, provided a sudden and unexpected emergence as a legitimate slugger.

In addition to his 51 homers, Fielder also led the American League in RBI and total bases (339) that season, finishing runner-up for the AL MVP award.

The Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League signed Fielder after the 1988 season, paying him $1,050,000 ($1,968,644 today), including a chauffeur and a full-time interpreter.

More than the money, he said, he went to Japan for the opportunity to play every day.

In the beginning of spring training, Fielder had a difficult time adjusting to Japan's baseball culture.

However, with the help of Tiger manager Minoru Murayama and Junichi Kashiwabara, he became adjusted to the new environment.

The Tigers offered Fielder the position of cleanup hitter, and he became a hero to the local baseball fans, who nicknamed him "Wild Bear" (wild, in Japan, is the image of power; bear, for his hulking presence).

Fielder batted .302 and hit 38 home runs for Hanshin in 1989.

After the 1989 season, Fielder signed a two-year, $3 million contract with the Detroit Tigers.

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.

He is the father of Prince Fielder, who similarly established himself as a premier power hitter during his career.

The Fielders are the only father and son to both have 50-home run seasons in MLB history, and were the only father–son duo to have 40–home run seasons until 2021, when they were joined by Vladimir Guerrero Jr.. and his own father.

Fielder attended Nogales High School in La Puente, California.

Fielder hit 51 home runs with 132 RBIs in 1990.

In 1990, Fielder also became the fourth American League player to ever have two three-home run games in a season.

During the 1990s, Fielder built a reputation for clutch hitting and power, though the Tigers continued to be no better than mediocre.

His team's fates possibly hurt him with MVP voters.

Rickey Henderson and Cal Ripken Jr. narrowly edged him for the AL's MVP Award in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

His new fans in Detroit nicknamed him "Big Daddy" for his big smile, peaceful temperament, and prodigious home runs (as well as his massive physical stature).

In his six-year tenure with Detroit, Fielder had four consecutive 30-homer and 100-RBI seasons.

With his 44 home runs in 1991, Cecil joined Hank Greenberg (1937–38) as the only Tiger players at that time to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons.

In 1992, Fielder avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $4.5million contract, which at the time set a record for highest salary by an arbitration-eligible player.

Fielder responded by leading the league in RBI (124) for the third consecutive season, becoming the first American Leaguer since Babe Ruth to do so.

With the Yankees, he won the 1996 World Series over the Atlanta Braves.

(Miguel Cabrera joined Fielder and Greenberg in 2012–13.) Fielder repeated as AL RBI champion with 133 driven in that season, and finished runner-up in the AL MVP balloting for the second consecutive year.