Prince Fielder Signs With Tigers

First baseman Prince Fielder and the Detroit Tigers agreed Tuesday on a nine-year, $214 million contract. Detroit boldly stepped up in the Fielder sweepstakes after the recent knee injury to star Victor Martinez. A week ago, the Tigers announced that the designated hitter could miss the entire season after tearing his left ACL during offseason conditioning. The Tigers won their division by 15 games before losing in the AL championship series to Texas. His father, Cecil, became a big league star when he returned to the majors from Japan and hit 51 home runs with Detroit in 1990. With Cabrera and Fielder, Detroit will begin this season with two players under age 30 with at least 200 career homers. According to STATS LLC, that’s happened only once before. The 1961 season, the Milwaukee Braves featured 29-year-old Eddie Matthews (338 homers) and 27-year-old Hank Aaron (219). The slugger hit .299 with 38 home runs and 120 RBIs last season. He is a three-time All-Star and was the MVP of last year’s event in Phoenix. Fielder has averaged 40 homers and 113 RBIs over the past five years. He’s also been among the most durable players in the majors, appearing in at least 157 games in each of the last six seasons. The deal is the fourth $200 million contract in baseball history, following Alex Rodriguez’s $275 million, 10-year contract with the New York Yankees, A-Rod’s $252 million, 10-year deal with Texas and Albert Pujols’ $240 million, 10-year contract last month with the Los Angeles Angels. Fielder’s $23.78 million average salary is behind only A-Rod ($27.5 million), Ryan Howard ($25 million), and Cliff Lee and Pujols ($24 million each). Victor Martinez is in the second year of a $50 million, four-year contract. The Tigers signed ace Justin Verlander to a five-year deal in early 2010, then added Martinez and standout reliever Joaquin Benoit last offseason. The Tigers figure to enter the 2012 season as favorites to repeat in the division—with an eye on winning the franchise’s first World Series since 1984.