Prince Fielder receives a lot of criticism for his weight and the presumed lack of conditioning that comes with it, but as Adam McCalvy of MLB.com notes he’s the only player in baseball to appear in all of his team’s games this season. Fielder has started at first base and batted cleanup in each of the Brewers’ first 153 games and plans to maintain his perfect attendance down the stretch:
Interestingly, at least four players have appeared in 162 games every year since the strike-shortened 1994 and 1995 seasons, with a total of 76 different 162-game players during that 14-year stretch. And now suddenly Fielder is the only guy with a shot to do it this season. Coincidence or are teams more focused on giving their stars at least an occasional day off? Fielder, incidentally, is hitting .297/.408/.595 with 42 homers, 34 doubles, 101 walks, and a league-leading 132 RBIs, including .282/.386/.600 with six homers and seven doubles in 23 games this month.
Fielder recalled coming out of a Little League game when he was 12 years old, after fouling a pitch off his foot. “I came out of the game, and I remember someone being [upset]. They were like, ‘I think you’re all right,’” Fielder said. “That made me feel bad. I didn’t like the way I felt. So from then on, I wanted to play every day.
“I just felt soft. I didn’t like it. If I’m hurt, it’s one thing, but if I can to play, I want to play.” Fielder said he has fought through aches and pains this season, but never came close to asking for a day off. Manager Ken Macha never considered giving him one. “Not even close,” Macha said.