Generation gap hitters

Fielder, Mayberry, Reuss among familiar names selected

Prince Fielder hit .524 with 11 home runs in 82 at-bats for Eau Gallie High School this season. AP

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Cecil Fielder's biggest thrill in baseball came Tuesday, three years after he retired.

"This is awesome. As a father, I couldn't ask for anything better," Fielder said Tuesday after his 18-year-old son, Prince, was the selected by the Milwaukee Brewers with the seventh pick in the draft.

"Any parent wants to see their child do better than they did and I'm convinced he's going to be a better ballplayer than I ever was."

The elder Fielder, a three-time All-Star who homered 319 times and won an AL home run title and a World Series ring in his 13-year career, said his son is the next Ken Griffey Jr. or Barry Bonds.

"He's in the same mix," Cecil Fielder said. "He's that kind of kid."

Prince Fielder was one of three sons of major leaguers drafted in the first round.

Ohio State first baseman Nick Swisher, the son of former big league catcher Steve Swisher, and high school first baseman John Mayberry Jr., son of John Mayberry, were also picked.

Swisher, a switch-hitter who batted .348 with a team-high 52 RBIs and 10 homers, was the 16th overall pick by Oakland. The elder Swisher was a first-round pick of the Chicago White Sox in 1973.

"Me and the old man have something to share now," the younger Swisher said. "I'm so excited, it's ridiculous."

Mayberry, who hit .432 with nine homers and 29 RBIs for Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo., was picked by Seattle with the 28th pick.

"My dad has left me quite a legacy to follow here," Mayberry said. "I am not going to try to surpass him, I'm not going to try to compare myself to him. I'm just going to be myself and see how far I can get."

Prince Fielder grew up around ballparks and was hitting homers onto the upper decks at Tiger Stadium as a beefy, baby-faced 12-year-old.

M's take Mayberry at No. 28 SEATTLE -- John Mayberry Jr. insists he will do his own thing in pro baseball, and not try to imitate his famous father. As the son of a former major leaguer, the Seattle Mariners' top draft pick knows he has plenty of background to succeed. "I've gotten to know baseball through my dad's days as a coach," said Mayberry Jr., selected with the 28th overall pick in the first round of the draft on Tuesday. "I was constantly around baseball." Mayberry, 18, is a 6-foot-4, 215-pound first baseman-outfielder out of Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo. He hit .432, with five doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 29 RBIs this season. • Click here for full story.

"Now, I get to be there watching him," Cecil Fielder said. "I get to do it all over again. I'm going to give him all the knowledge I've got. He's got an advantage because he's got all his knowledge and all mine, too."

He's also got his father's power and physique -- Prince is 6-feet and 255 pounds -- but he does things his dad never did, like bat left-handed and run well.

When Prince was 5, he picked up a bat and tried to emulate this father by batting right-handed.

"I said, 'No, no, no, no,'" Cecil Fielder recounted. "I said, 'This game was made for left-handed hitters. Get on the other side. That's where the money is.'"

Fielder will serve as his son's agent and is seeking about $2 million in signing bonus, he said.

When the elder Fielder began his pro career in 1982 with Kansas City, he signed for $3,000.

"So, that shows you how good I was at his age and how good he is," the elder Fielder said. "This is the best. Any parent wants their child to do better than they did. He's a pretty good athlete and I know I got a great kid and I'm proud of that."

Prince Fielder said he's eager to see his father in the stands.

"He's probably going to be just like I was. When I was watching him, I was always criticizing and telling him what he could do differently," Prince Fielder said. "I'm pretty sure he's going to be the same way.

"It's pretty cool. Now he gets to watch me and he can just sit back."

The younger Fielder is a basher who hit .524 with 10 homers in 82 at-bats as a senior at Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne, Fla.

Prince Fielder will face even more scrutiny than most first-rounders, but the Brewers aren't concerned about his ability to handle the spotlight.

"He's not going to be in awe," Brewers scouting director Jack Zduriencik said. "He's been on major league fields and has played catch with major leaguers players and watched his dad go through this. We think that will work to his advantage, not disadvantage.'

Cecil Fielder concurred.

"He's not going to be in awe of anything or anybody or any place. He's seen it all. He's been around all the great players. Ken Griffey Jr., Mo Vaughn. His daddy wasn't bad."

There were a few other sons of former major leaguers selected during the first day of the draft.

High school catcher Kris Harvey (Bryan Harvey) was drafted by Atlanta in the fifth round; Sacred Heart outfielder Matt Lemanczyk (Dave Lemanczyk) was a 10th-round pick of St. Louis; UNLV outfielder Jason Reuss (Jerry Reuss) was picked by Houston in the 11th round; Rice infielder Enrique Cruz (Jose Cruz) was a 13th-round pick of Cincinnati; and Arizona shortstop Brad Hassey (Ron Hassey) went to Toronto in the 19th round.

High school shortstop Taber Lee, the brother of Philadelphia's Travis Lee, was taken in the third round. High school third baseman Jake Blalock, brother of Texas Rangers prospect Hank Blalock, went to Philadelphia in the fifth round.

East Carolina left-hander Sam Narron, the nephew of Texas manager Jerry Narron, was picked by the Rangers in the 15th round. Auburn infielder Jonathan Schuerholz, the son of Atlanta GM John Schuerholz, was selected by the Braves in the eighth round.

 

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