Milwaukee Brewers: Who Will Be The Next Brewers Hall Of Famer?

Prince Fielder

Eligible: 2022

It’ll be hard to find a player who was a more intimidating presence at first base and in the middle of a lineup from 2006-2013 than Prince Fielder.

Fielder spent the first seven years of his big league career with the Brewers and he was a huge part of the Crew’s core during their 2008 and 2011 postseason appearances.

It’ll be difficult for any Brewers fans to forget his 50 homer season in 2007, becoming the youngest player in the league to hit 50 long balls in a season. Fielder had so much power, and being a left-handed hitter at Miller Park made him so much more fun to watch. He had three Top-5 MVP finishes in his career.

Fielder had six seasons with at least 100 RBIs, including a league-high 141 RBIs in 2009.

For years, Fielder was as durable and reliable as they come, playing in more than 157 games in nine of his 12 seasons, including playing all 162 games four times.

Fielder left Milwaukee in free agency and signed a huge contract with the Tigers, where he lasted two seasons before being traded to the Texas Rangers. It was there that Fielder’s neck and back started acting up and forced him into an early retirement at the age of 32.

He had many years left in his career before it was cut short, and he was certainly on track for the Hall of Fame with the numbers he was putting up. Had he been able to play out his contract and stay healthy, Fielder likely would’ve been a first ballot Hall of Famer. But with his shortened career, his fate is up in the air.

His WAR numbers were brought down by his defense and his shortened career didn’t allow him to accumulate a higher total WAR.

Honestly, I don’t think Fielder will earn the 75% vote total from the BBWAA to earn enshrinement in the Hall of Fame based on his injuries causing him to fall short of the benchmark numbers to help his case. Had he stayed healthy, he likely would’ve hit 500 homers, minimum. He finished with 319.

Fielder was inducted into the Brewers Wall of Honor in 2018, and there could be a Walk of Fame plaque outside Miller Park in his future, but I don’t see him getting in the Hall of Fame and I don’t see his number going up in the rafters. The Brewers have already given Fielder’s number away to Gerardo Parra, Jorge Lopez, and Curtis Granderson since his departure.