Cecil Fielder hits home runs further and more often than any other player in baseball today. In 1990 he became only the eleventh hitter in major league history to hit 50 or more home runs in a single season. From 1990 to 1992, Fielder became the first major leaguer since Babe Ruth (1919-21) to lead the majors in runs batted in for three straight seasons. During that period, he hit 130 homers--easily the best total in baseball. In 1996 Fielder joined the New York Yankees in time to help baseball's most famous team to win the World Series.

Fielder was born September 21, 1963, in Los Angeles, California. Cecil (pronounced Ceh-cil) was named after a favorite uncle who stood a towering six-feet-seven inches and weighed 290 pounds. His mother, Tina, had been a high school track star, and his father, Edson, had been an all-state shortstop. Cecil was always large and always athletic. When he was...