#80 Cecil Fielder

About the Front: Man, even Cecil Fielder's forearms were fat. By the way, does anybody know what brand Cecil the Vessel's cleats were? Those don't ring a bell with me.

About the Back: Fielder was the first player to lead the majors in RBI in three consecutive seasons since Babe Ruth (1919-1921). But he failed to lead the league in RBI for a fourth consecutive year in 1993, settling for fifth in the American League with 117 ribbies.

Triple Play:

1. Cecil made a huge splash when he returned to the majors in 1990 and became the first player since George Foster in 1977 to hit 50 home runs. He's still the only Detroit hitter besides Hank Greenberg to ever have a 50-homer season.

2. Fielder was a midsummer acquisition for the Yankees in 1996 and helped them to their first World Series triumph in 15 years. In postseason play, he batted .308/.390/.519 with three homers and 14 RBI in 14 games.

3. A botched hit-and-run gave Cecil his first career stolen base in his 1,096 career game, which set a big league record. The thievery occurred on April 2, 1996, and the victims were pitcher Dan Naulty and catcher Greg Myers.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I remember watching Cecil's son Prince steal the show in the 1994 edition of MTV's Rock N' Jock softball game. Now the younger Fielder is a nine-year MLB veteran whose 285 home runs are just 34 behind his father's career total. When did we all get so old?

Bill James Said: "There's a place for him on a baseball team, but he's basically a big fat guy who hits home runs." This echoes Bill's more famous quote about Cecil: "Listed at 250 pounds, but one must wonder what would happen if he put his other foot on the scale."

On This Date in 1993: October 1. Carlos Delgado makes his MLB debut in a 7-2 Blue Jays loss to the Orioles in Baltimore. He subs for Randy Knorr at catcher in the sixth inning, and draws a walk against O's reliever Todd Frohwirth in his only plate appearance.