You watch Prince Fielder tear through baseballs like he’s swinging Thor’s hammer and you simply shake your head.
You marvel at the stats, how he’s homered eight times in the last 11 games, and how every single shot either tied the game or gave the Brewers the lead. You fully understand he’s the main rocket booster that’s fired the Brewers into first place for the first time in two years.
It reminds you of just how special a player this man can be, how he’s done things that are, quite simply, of a historical nature. Youngest man to hit 50 home runs in a season. Helping the Brewers end a 26-year playoff drought. Etcetera, etcetera.
And yet, it reminds you of something else, too.
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| Prince Fielder is all smiles. And Brewers fans should enjoy the show. |
Man, are they gonna miss this guy.
Like George missed Gracie. Like Cosell missed his hair. Like Cleveland misses LeBron.
OK, bad example with Cleveland and its former King. But Milwaukee and its current Prince? Let’s hope the relationship ends on a far, far better note.
Fielder has given the Brewers nothing but the best effort that his prodigious talents allow. He launches balls like he’s part battleship. He plays every day. He protects Ryan Braun. He entertains with home plate celebrations. He entertains in the clubhouse. Just ask Corey Hart, who recently told Fox Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi why he’d rather have Prince than Albert Pujols.
“I like the excitement Prince brings. He’s fun. He’s loud. He’s a lot of things that Pujols isn’t,” Hart said. “Pujols is a great player, but, for a clubhouse guy, you want to be able to cut up and have fun.”
So yes, Prince is beloved by his Brewers teammates. And yet, he will leave Milwaukee and those teammates behind after this season.
Brewers fans, when they’re being honest with themselves, are well aware of this. Because they know the Brewers cannot afford, nor should they pay, the $20-plus million per year it will take to snare him. It would cripple too many other areas of the team, especially with Braun’s big deal on the books.
Somebody will offer Fielder close to $200 million, perhaps more, and he will absolutely take it. Sure, fans can hope against reason that Fielder has an epiphany and takes $60 to $100 million less to stay in Milwaukee. They can hear the quote he gave MLB Network, as passed along by Andrew Wagner of OnMilwaukee.com, and feel the warmth from a flicker of hope. “Hopefully we get to win the World Series and I get to stay here,” Fielder said.
But unless he develops an insatiable love for the new Mars Cheese Castle or can’t wake up without Stone Creek Coffee, the World Series win is the only realistic hope. Because in the real world, athletes simply don’t forfeit that kind of money. CC Sabathia didn’t do it when the Yankees came calling. Prince won’t be the first.
So what’s a Brewers fan to do? Simple really.
Enjoy the moment.
The Prince Fielder Experience is an E-ticket extravaganza, and Milwaukee gets to ride it for a few more months. With a little luck, it will stay open until October.
So smile and scream. Throw your hands in the air when he launches those bombs. And most of all, appreciate the rare opportunity to see it firsthand.
Because shows like this just don’t last forever.
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