Prince Fielder Inks Mega Deal with Tigers

It took longer than expected, but Prince Fielder finally found a home to swing his big bat. The major league slugger has finalized a 9-year $214 million deal to join the Detroit Tigers.

Fielder was introduced to the Detroit faithful at a press conference yesterday and the moment was sort of a homecoming for the 27-year-old first baseman.

"This is awesome," said Fielder, referring to playing for the team his dad Cecil played for during the 1990s. "It's kind of a dream come true. I'm excited."

He recalled spending time when he was a teenager and the conversations he had with legendary Tigers manager Sparky Anderson.

"For me, it was always Sparky saying I was going to pinch hit -- and I really believed him," Fielder said. "I'm just glad I get to come back."

Fielder’s return to his childhood home team came as a shock to many. Despite being one of the most talented free agents on the market this off-season, Fielder went unsigned well past the expected signing period. It was a month ago that the Los Angeles Angles signed Albert Pujols to a hefty 10-year $240 million deal, still teams were reluctant to give Fielder, a perennial all-star with the Milwaukee Brewers, the long term deal his agent Scott Boras was looking for.

Initially there was talk Fielder would sign with the Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, or Los Angeles Dodgers. Most recently Boras had conversations with the Texas Rangers, but the Detroit Tigers emerged as the team for Fielder even after they were first not interested. Things changed, however, when their star first baseman/designated hitter Victor Martinez went down with a serious knee injury.

Signing Fielder made sense in order to fill the void left by Martinez’s injury. It also pairs Fielder with Miguel Cabrera, who will move to third base to make room for Fielder at first, one of the game’s best hitters. Together they will form arguably the game’s best 1-2 combo of hitters, and make the Tigers a favorite to win the World Series.

"We're trying to win right now," general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "We tried to win last year. We were close. I think we've reached a point now, on a yearly basis, we feel that way. When you look at the core of our group of players, there's a lot of guys that are on that field right now that are quality players."