LOS ANGELES — After a herniated disk ruined his first season with the Texas Rangers in 2014, first baseman Prince Fielder is making a significant contribution in an unexpected area.
The 275-pound Fielder, known for his power, leads the American League with a .344 batting average after 67 games. Fielder is just ahead of Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera (.342) as Friday’s play begins.
When was the last time Fielder had such a high average this late in the season?
“I don’t know,” he said. “Probably never.”
During his 10 years in the major leagues, Fielder finished a season batting higher than .300 just once. In 2012, he hit .313 in his first season as Cabrera’s teammate in Detroit.
Fielder batted .279 for the Tigers in 2013, then hit just .247 in only 42 games with the Rangers last year.
Before sustaining the herniated disk, Fielder hit as many as 50 homers in a season. However, returning to full-time duty meant developing a simpler approach to hitting.
“As I got older, I realized that you can’t try to hit a homer,” Fielder said. “You can’t try to go big. You’ve just got to try to hit the ball hard, put it in play and just see what happens.”
That approach enables Fielder to sabotage opposing pitchers’ continued attempts to defuse his power.
“They’ve pitched him tough,” Texas manager Jeff Banister said. “He really hasn’t had a whole lot of pitches out over the plate. They really try to stay inside and hard on him, and he hasn’t been able to get extended on a lot of pitches.”
Yet Fielder, who has 11 home runs this year, can use his new mindset to generate the long ball. In the top of the ninth inning Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, Fielder propelled a 99 mph fastball down the left field line for his 299th career homer.
“As I matured, I just realized that you just have to try to hit the ball hard,” Fielder said. “You don’t have to hit it far. If you hit it hard, good things will happen.”
Fielder got a night off Thursday as the Rangers fell 1-0 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.