page_title: Prince Fielder
section_title: 2012
hierarchical_section_title: Prince Fielder / Professional career / Detroit Tigers (2012–2013) / 2012
caption_attribution_description: Delmon Young (left) and Prince Fielder
context_page_description: Prince Semien Fielder is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers. He was selected in the first round of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft by the Brewers out of Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne, Florida, and spent the first seven years of his MLB career with the Brewers before signing with the Tigers, in January 2012. In November 2013, Fielder was traded to the Rangers, where he played the remainder of his career.
  Fielder is a six-time All-Star. He holds the Brewers' team record for home runs in a season, and is the youngest player in National League history to hit 50 home runs in a season. He became the first Brewer to win the Home Run Derby, defeating Nelson Cruz in the final round of the 2009 derby. Fielder also won the 2012 derby, joining Ken Griffey, Jr. and Yoenis Céspedes as the only players to win more than one derby and becoming the first player to win the Derby as both an American League and NL All-Star.
context_section_description: Following the 2011 World Series, Fielder became a free agent. On January 26, 2012, Fielder agreed to a nine-year, $214 million contract with the Detroit Tigers to play first base and bat clean-up in the Tigers batting order. It was the largest contract in the history of the Tigers, surpassing Miguel Cabrera's contract of $185.3 million over eight years. The Tigers acquired Fielder to replace the bat of an injured Víctor Martínez, the everyday designated hitter in 2011. The acquisition of Fielder, who had only played first base in his career, required 2008–2011 first baseman Miguel Cabrera to move to third, which Cabrera was notably happy to do.
  On April 5, 2012, Fielder made his debut with the Tigers and singled in his first at bat.
  Fielder hit his first two home runs as a Tiger on April 7, 2012, in a 10–0 victory over the Boston Red Sox.  In his first season in the American League, he was voted to the 2012 All-Star team as a starter. It is his fourth All-Star appearance overall. Fielder was also selected by American League captain, Robinson Canó, to participate in the 2012 Home Run Derby.
  On July 9, 2012, Fielder became the 2012 Home Run Derby champion, hitting 12 home runs in the third and final round over José Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays. This is Fielder's second win in the derby, his first coming in 2009. Fielder became the first participant to win for both the National and American League, and joined Ken Griffey, Jr. as the only two players to win multiple Derbies.
  Fielder finished the 2012 regular season with a career-best .313 batting average. He hit 30 home runs, giving him six straight seasons with at least 30 long balls, and drove in 108 runs for his fifth career 100-plus RBI season. He also had an on-base percentage of .412, his fourth straight season with an OBP above .400. He played in all 162 games for Detroit, his third such season in his career, and he led the American League in being hit by pitches (17). Some in the sports media have given Fielder at least partial credit for teammate Cabrera winning the Triple Crown of batting in 2012. With Fielder hitting behind him in the Tiger order, Cabrera's walks declined from 108 the previous season to just 66, giving him more opportunities to hit home runs and drive in runs. Cabrera would later confirm in a June 2013 Sports Illustrated article: "You can see a difference. They pitch to me more...I see a lot of good pitches."
  The 2012 World Series was Fielder's first career trip to the World Series. He compiled only a .071 batting average (1-for-14) during the World Series as the Tigers were swept in four games at the hands of the San Francisco Giants.
  In Game 2 of the series, Fielder was hit on the shoulder by a pitch from Giant's starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner. After Delmon Young hit a double down the left field line, Prince attempted to score. However, a relay throw from Gregor Blanco to Marco Scutaro to Buster Posey tagged Fielder out as he was sliding home. This became the first ever 7-4-2 putout in a World Series.
caption: Prince Fielder (right) and teammate Delmon Young (left) with the Tigers on July 13, 2012
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