The careers of one of the best sluggers of the last decade may be over. Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Texas Rangers have called a press conference for Wednesday.
In it, Prince Fielder is expected to announce his retirement.
Sources: Prince Fielder’s career appears over. #Rangers expected to hold press conference tomorrow.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 9, 2016
While Fielder is out for the year with his second neck injury in three years, there’s still a strong element of shock here.
Fielder was one of baseball’s most durable players prior to his 2014 injury, having never played in fewer than 157 games in any full season.
One of the era’s most-prolific power hitters, Fielder belted a career-high 50 home runs in 2007. If his career is indeed over, he will retire with 319 homers. Incidentally, that’s the same total as Fielder’s father, Cecil, finished with.
The younger Fielder played with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2005-11, the Detroit Tigers from 2012-13 and the Texas Rangers from 2014-16.