Even on those days when his body needs a break, Fielder convinces it otherwise. His full-season game counts have gone accordingly: 157, 158, 159, 162, 161, 162, 162 and, this season, 97 of 97.
“You’ve got to want to do it,” Fielder said. “I just want to play. I just don’t like missing games. It feels weird.”
Leyland won’t write him out of the lineup anytime soon. The question, then, is just how long can Prince Fielder: Iron Man last? Perhaps it’s more rhetorical than anything, because in order for his streak truly to permeate the public consciousness, it would need to approach Ripken’s 2,632 consecutive games. And if he’s anywhere close, the masses will wonder: Can Fielder actually do it? Because from today, that would mean 2,193 more games in a row – 13 full seasons, plus another 87 games. So for Prince Fielder, the game’s current iron man, to break the streak of Cal Ripken Jr., the all-time iron man, he will need to play every single game from now until late April 2027 – and that’s assuming no labor wars, no transportation snafus and Fielder aging better than every power-hitting first baseman in history..
Because in April 2027, he will be 42.
Let’s just hope between now and then he doesn’t foul another ball off his shin.
Article Appeared @http://sports.yahoo.com/news/upsetting-look-from-cecil-fielder-helped-prince-fielder-forge-his-iron-man-approach-to-baseball-010207521.html