Fielder and the Tigers agreed Tuesday to a nine-year, $214 million contract, a person familiar with the deal said. The AL Central champions boldly stepped up in the Fielder sweepstakes after the recent knee injury to star Victor Martinez. A week ago, the Tigers announced the productive designated hitter could miss the entire season after tearing his left ACL during offseason conditioning.

CBS first reported the agreement with Fielder.

The person told The Associated Press the deal was subject to a physical. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract was not yet complete.

Several teams had shown interest this winter in Fielder, the free agent first baseman who had spent his entire career with the Milwaukee Brewers. He visited Texas, and the Washington Nationals also got involved in the discussions.

The Tigers won their division by 15 games before losing in the AL championship series to Texas. With Fielder now in the fold, general manager Dave Dombrowski and owner Mike Ilitch have a team that figures to enter the 2012 season as a favorite to repeat in the division — with an eye on winning the franchise’s first World Series title since 1984.

“Everyone knew Mr. Ilitch and Mr. Dombrowski were going to make a move when Victor went down,” outfielder Brennan Boesch said in a phone interview with the AP. “But I don’t think anybody thought it would be this big.”

The move also keeps Fielder’s name in the Tigers’ family. His father, Cecil, became a big league star when he returned to the majors from Japan and hit 51 home runs with Detroit in 1990. Cecil played with the Tigers into the 1996 season, and young Prince made a name for himself by hitting prodigious home runs in batting practice at Tiger Stadium.

In an interview with MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, Cecil Fielder said he was “shocked” by the news that Prince was heading to Detroit.

“He’s been there in Detroit most of his young life so I think he’ll be comfortable in that place,” Cecil Fielder said. “I know Mr. Ilitch is probably excited because he’s been wanting that kid since he was a little kid, so he finally got his wish.”

With Cabrera and Fielder, Detroit will begin this season with two players under age 30 with at least 200 career homers. According to STATS LLC, that’s happened only once before. At the start of the 1961 season, the Milwaukee Braves featured 29-year-old Eddie Mathews (338 homers) and 27-year-old Hank Aaron (219).

Fielder hit .299 with 38 home runs and 120 RBIs last season. He is a three-time All-Star and was the MVP of last year’s event in Phoenix.

The beefy slugger has averaged 40 homers and 113 RBIs over the past five years. He’s also been among the most durable players in the majors, appearing in at least 157 games in each of the last six seasons.

Fielder hits left-handed, while Cabrera is a righty. Manager Jim Leyland will get to decide where to put them in the batting order.

“I don’t think there’s a better right-left combo in any lineup in baseball,” Boesch said. “I’m sure Skip’s wheels are already turning on how to set them up.”

And to think, the Tigers also have the American League’s reigning MVP and Cy Young Award winner — right-hander Justin Verlander.

Fielder’s deal is only the fourth $200 million contract in baseball history, following Alex Rodriguez’s $275 million, 10-year contract with the New York Yankees, A-Rod’s $252 million, 10-year deal with Texas and Albert Pujols’ $240 million, 10-year contract last month with the Los Angeles Angels.

Among current players, Fielder’s $23.78 million average salary is behind only A-Rod ($27.5 million), Ryan Howard ($25 million), and Cliff Lee and Pujols ($24 million each).

Dombrowski indicated last week he’d probably seek a short-term solution to Martinez’s injury, but he left himself some wriggle room, saying it depended who the replacement was.

Acquiring Fielder opens all sorts of possibilities. For now, Detroit has an opening at DH with Martinez out. But Martinez is in the second year of a $50 million, four-year contract.

One option could be to move Cabrera from first base to third. He played third base regularly for the Florida Marlins before the Tigers acquired him before the 2008 season.

Third baseman Brandon Inge has one year left on a two-year, $11.5 million deal with Detroit.

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Bonds, 47, was convicted in April of obstructing a grand jury’s sports doping investigation with an evasive answer. Prosecutors dropped three other perjury counts after the jury deadlocked on those charges, which accused Bonds of lying to the grand jury when he denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Federal sentencing guidelines for conviction on the charge recommend a prison sentence between 15 months and 21 months. But Bonds’ lawyers cited an investigative report prepared by a federal probation officer for the judge that also recommended a sentence of probation.

The lawyers said they disagreed, however, with the probation report’s recommendation that Bonds spend an unspecified time under “location monitoring,” a form of house arrest.

In their motion, Bonds’ lawyers said the probation department cited Bonds’ “significant history of charitable, civic and prior good works” as a major reason for leniency. The probation officer also noted that Bonds’ conviction appears “to be an aberration when taken in context of his entire life,” according to the lawyers.

“The behavior for which Mr. Bonds is to be sentenced relates to his obstruction of justice conduct before the grand jury,” lawyers quoted the probation officer as reporting in the sentencing recommendation. “The sentence to be imposed should not be about steroid use and how this use impacts his stature.”

The lawyers said the probation officer recommended probation because other sports figures convicted of similar charges stemming from the same sports doping investigation also avoided prison.

Juries convicted cyclist Tammy Thomas of perjury for testifying she never used steroids and former track coach Trevor Graham for lying to investigators about his involvement with a steroids dealer. Both were sentenced to periods of house arrest, which is considered a form of probation.

Former professional football player Dana Stubblefield pleaded guilty to lying to investigators and was sentenced to probation.

Prosecutors were expected to submit their sentencing recommendations in Bonds’ case this week. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 16.

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But baseball? Not so much while growing up at the Richard Allen projects in Philadelphia.

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“No, no, no. I wasn’t any good,” the comedian told The Associated Press recently. “But I was fast. I think I held the record for the highest batting average – maybe .300 or something – for someone who never hit the ball out of the infield.”

There was the time he stole, too. A high school classmate’s glove, that is.

“I got caught,” he said. “I learned I wasn’t a very good lookout for myself and better find something else to do.”

Those stories aren’t in his book that came out last month, “I Didn’t Ask to Be Born (But I’m Glad I Was).” There is a delightful tale, though, of the day his pal Peanut Armhouse got called home by his mom while playing softball and dared to ignore her. While the other boys stood petrified by her shouts, ol’ Peanut picked up the ball, hit a weak grounder and did his own play-by-play while rounding the bases.

Just the way By Saam would’ve called it, Cosby wrote, referencing the famed Phillies announcer for four decades.

Back in the 1940s, schoolyards and sandlots in his neighborhood were full of kids playing baseball and softball. Or step-ball, with players tossing a bouncy ball off the angled steps of Philly’s row houses. Or even hose-ball, a game he recalled that used a cutup, four-inch piece of garden hose as the ball.

At 74, Cosby doesn’t see crowded inner-city fields anymore.

“Look at how desperate we were to play. We’d be out there trying to catch a rock, in the dark,” he said. “But schools cut out gym classes. Schools cut off recess. We’ve got a lot of chubby kids now.”

Some of those kids, he observed, prefer to play baseball on a computer screen rather than with real bats and balls.

“What they’re building are remedial gyms,” Cosby said.

Cosby is concerned many would-be ballplayers are being priced out.

“Those gloves don’t cost 12 cents,” he said. “What do they cost now, $400? And it costs $600 or something to join some of these leagues.”

“And remember, there are places now where you can’t just go running around, the bullets are flying,” he said.

Quite a difference from when he’d show up to play in the Police Athletic League. There, at the 69th PAL, bats and gloves and uniforms were provided. Everything except the shoes.

“Mine were cardboard and leather,” Cosby said.

No matter, he was a pretty slick-fielding second baseman in those days. That’s his story, anyway.

“I could turn the double play. I’d come across, put my foot against the back left corner of the bag and sidearm that throw,” Cosby said. “That I could do.”

Cosby neatly ticked off the names of the Phillies from his youth – Richie Ashburn, Robin Roberts, Granny Hamner and Puddin’ Head Jones, stars on the 1950 Whiz Kids.

They also were the favorites of his grandfather, a devout Phillies fan who kept two radios cranked up at home so he could listen to games from every room. When Cosby began to succeed in show business, he bought him a special present: season tickets on the third base side at Connie Mack Stadium.

Sometime that season, Cosby called from the road and asked an uncle how the seats were working out.

“He told me granddad went to one game, didn’t like how people were yelling at the players and said in the fourth inning that he wanted to go home,” Cosby said. “And that was the end of the season tickets for the Phillies.”

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The St. Louis Cardinals, the team that wasn’t even supposed to be here, had won a most remarkable World Series.

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A day after twice being down to their last strike, the Cardinals became champions by beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 on Friday night, boosted by another key hit from hometown MVP David Freese and six gutty innings by Chris Carpenter.

“It’s hard to explain how this happened,” Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.

Beyond that final boxscore, that is.

Pushed to the brink, the Cardinals kept saving themselves. A frantic rush from 10 1/2 games out in late August to reach the postseason on the final day. A nifty pair of comebacks against Philadelphia and Milwaukee in the playoffs. And then two desperate rallies in Game 6.

“This whole ride, this team deserves this,” said Freese, who added more hardware to the trophy he won as the NL championship series MVP.

But how? How did they do it?

“It’s a long season. If you watch the history of baseball, teams come back. And sometimes they could have come back but they give in or give up,” La Russa said.

“Started winning some games so we can regain some respect, and then it got better,” he said. “Play every game like it’s the last game.”

Following that comeback in Game 6 that resulted in a 10-9 win in 11 innings, the Cardinals captured their 11th World Series crown. Only the New York Yankees own more with 27.

Still, few Negro League legends received the fanfare that white players received for their accolades. In fact, many players ended their careers working menial jobs and being buried in unmarked graves.

The Negro Leagues Baseball Grave Marker Project–a project that restores the unmarked graves of Negro League legends– is bringing these players legends and lives out of obscurity.

“It’s important for people to realize that many of these ballplayers when they left professional baseball, they were forced to take menial jobs such as custodians and security guards. Many of them had to work for minimum wage,” said Larry Lester, chairman of the Negro League Committee for the Society of American Baseball Research.

Read more at MSNBC.

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One of the Yankees few African-American players is not harping on the lack of Blacks in baseball, but asking where the Black fans are at games.

Granderson recently challenged his fellow Yankees to count the number of Black people at ballgames.

“At first, it starts off as a joke,” Granderson, who hit the second most home runs in baseball (42) between 2010 and this year’s All-Star Game, (Toronto’s Jose Bautista 61), told the Fort Worth-Star Telegram.

“And as the game moves on, you’ll get to 10, or maybe 15. Depends on where you are, too. Places like Chicago or New York, other places it’s easy. Here (in Texas), it’s hard. So after a while it becomes, ‘Told you so.’”

Read more at The Dish

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Fifty years ago, baseball was the sport that had the hearts of African-American children across the country.

Before Major League Baseball integrated, African-Americans created the Negro Leagues, which was a farm full of fresh Black talent that was home to the likes of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson to name a few.

But what was once the most popular sport amongst African-Americans, has now become an afterthought in the community. And while the lack of Black baseball players is a major concern (8 percent), we can’t forget the great players who have donned uniforms for various ball clubs from the Willie Mays to present day stars like Derek Jeter.

Below is a list of the best Black baseball players of all-time. We compiled it in a starting lineup format.

Feel free to leave your thoughts and suggestions.

First Basemen

“The Big Hurt” Frank Thomas leads off our list of “Best Black Baseball Players of All-Time” as one of the greatest first-basemen ever.

Thomas, who spent 15 years on the Southside of Chicago with the White Sox, hit .301 for his career, hit 521 homeruns, and drove in 1,704 runs.

Second Basemen

The man who broke the baseball color barrier in 1947, Jackie Robinson, was a six-time all-star selection.

Robinson, whose jersey has been retired by every MLB team, is most remembered for work both on and off the field in advancing the cause of Black athletes in the sport.

Third Basemen

While Derek Jeter isn’t a third basemen, we didn’t think he should be left off the list for someone like the Atlanta Braves Terry Pendleton. While Pendleton has a solid career, it wasn’t a Hall of Fame one like Jeter.

Jeter, who joined the 3,000 hit club this past weekend with a classic 5-for-5 game, has won 5 World Series titles with the Bronx Bombers.

He’s also a twelve-time all-star, and is signed with the Yankees through 2015.

Shortstop

The man known around North Chicago as “Mr. Cub,” Ernie Banks, signed with the Cubs in 1953 after playing for years in the Negro Leagues.

Once he joined the Cubs in 1953, he never left. He spent his next 18 years there batting .271, hitting 512 homers, and driving in 1,636 runs.

Left Field

One of the most controversial athletes of all-time, Barry Bonds takes the left field slot in our list.

Bonds, who is reviled across the country by most sports fans, is second on the all-time home run list with 762.

Bonds finished his career with the Giants batting .298 with 1,996 runs batted in.

He was convicted on an obstruction of justice charge earlier this year.

Center Field

Many consider Willie Mays to be the greatest all-around baseball player of all-time. As dazzling as he was in the batter’s box, he also shined as a fielder catching up to fly balls and line drivers unlike any player of his time. Mays won a record tying twelve Gold Gloves, won the MVP award twice, and won a World Series title in 1954.

Right Fielder

Before injuries derailed his career, many thought Ken Griffey Jr. was on his way to becoming the greatest player of all-time. He had all the tools – he could run, play defense, hit for power, hit for average, and throw. While Griffey finished his career in Cincinnati and back home in Seattle, many choose to remember his glory years. He hit .284 for his career and hit 630 home runs.

Designated Hitter

Henry “Hank” Aaron is most remembered for being the home-run king with 755 dingers. But many forget that he’s also part of the storied 3,000 hit club.

For 23 years, Aaron was one of the greatest baseball players to ever step foot on the field. He finished his career with an impressive .305 batting average, 2,297 runs batted in, and made the all-star twenty years in a row from 1955-75. He led the Atlanta Braves to a 1957 World Series title.

Catcher

Considered by many as not only the greatest catcher to ever play in the Negro Leagues, but the greatest catcher in baseball history period, Josh Gibson hit an astounding .359 for his career.

Known as the “Black Babe Ruth,” he never played in the Major Leagues because of their exclusionary rules towards Blacks.

Starting Pitcher

One of the most dominant pitchers of all-time, lifetime St. Louis Cardinal Bob Gibson struck fear in all opposing batters.

Gibson went 251-174 for the Cardinals and had a 2.91 ERA for his career.

He won the Cy Young twice, and was a two-time World Series MVP.

Closer

Lee Smith was one of the most dominant closers of all-time. He held the record for most saves for 13 years until 2006 when San Diego Padres closer, Trevor Hoffman, passed him.

Smith finished his career with 478 saves and a 3.03 ERA.

He spent the majority of his career with the Chicago Cubs.

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The fan who caught Derek Jeter’s historic 3,000th hit, Christian Lopez, called Derek Jeter a “Latino” when he was interviewed after catching the historic ball.

Problem is that Derek Jeter is far from Latino — he’s actually half-Black and white.

Now many look at Derek Jeter in the same way they look at Tiger Woods; almost as color-less athletes. Both of them have stayed far away from any type of racial issues or talk which have endeared them to all types of fans.

With his appeal amongst all fans, and refusal to speak about any racial issues, do you consider Jeter to be a Black man?

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On this list, you will find all-time home-run king, Hank Aaron, and other legends like the “Say Hey Kid,” Willie Mays.

Hank Aaron

Hits: 3,771

Henry “Hank” Aaron is most remembered for being the home-run king with 755 dingers. But many forget that he’s also part of the storied 3,000 hit club.

For 23 years, Aaron was one of the greatest baseball players to ever step foot on the field. He finished his career with an impressive .305 batting average, 2,297 runs batted in, and made the all-star twenty years in a row from 1955-75. He led the Atlanta Braves to a 1957 World Series title.

Willie Mays

Hits: 3,283

Many consider Willie Mays to be the greatest all-around baseball player of all-time. As dazzling as he was in the batter’s box, he also shined as a fielder catching up to fly balls and line drivers unlike any player of his time. Mays won a record tying twelve Gold Gloves, won the MVP award twice, and won a World Series title in 1954.

Eddie Murray

Hits: 3,255

When the word “reliable” comes up when talking about baseball players historically, designated hitter Eddie Murray will always be in the conversation.

One of the best switch-hitters of all-time, Murray, spent the majority of his career with the Baltimore Orioles where he began his quest for 3,000 hits. He hit .287 for his career, belted 517 home runs, and drove in 1,917 runs.

Tony Gwynn

Hits: 3,141

Not only was Tony Gwynn the greatest baseball player in San Diego Padres history, but many consider him to be the best hitter of all-time — even better than the iconic Ted Williams.

Gwynn spent 19 years in a Padre uniform in which he hit an astounding .338, hit 135 home runs, and drove in 1,138 runs.

Dave Winfield

Hits: 3,110

One of the most feared and intimidating ballplayers of his era, Dave Winfield made his name with the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees where he belted the majority of his 465 home runs.

ESPN ranked him the third best all-around athlete of all-time in any sport.

Rickey Henderson

Hits: 3,055

One of the greatest entertainers to ever step on a baseball field, Rickey Henderson, was a sight to see for all.

Whenever Henderson got on base, he was a threat to steal the next two bases — including home plate if he felt brave.

The sports greatest leadoff hitter, he holds the record for stolen bases at 1,406, and drove in 2,295 runs in his career.

Rod Carew

Hits: 3,053

Probably the most consistent contact-hitter of all-time, Rod Carew made his career out of taking plenty of pitches and hitting balls through the gaps of frustrated third and first basemen.

He was an 18-time all-star selection and won the 1977 AL MVP.

Lou Brock

Hits: 3,023

He was all about the hustle. The man that broke Ty Cobb’s stolen base record, Lou Brock, was a firecracker for the St. Louis Cardinals both in the batter’s box and on the field.

Brock was a six-time all-star selection and won two World Series titles with the Cardinals.

He hit .293 for his career and drove in 900 runs.

Derek Jeter

Hits: 3,004

“The Captain,” “Mr. October,” — the nicknames go on and on for the New York Yankees beloved shortstop Derek Jeter.

Jeter, who joined the 3,000 hit club this past weekend with a classic 5-for-5 game, has won 5 World Series titles with the Bronx Bombers.

He’s also a twelve-time all-star, and is signed with the Yankees through 2015.

Vienna, Ga– A draft pick of the New York Yankees who is suffering a rare disease received a life-saving kidney from his coach. Kevin Jordan was diagnosed with ANCA vasculitis, a disease which attacked his kidney.

His senior year, he committed to Wake Forest University, awaiting the draft. Suddenly however, Jordan’s started to feel weaker and weaker.

He was diagnosed with ANCA vasculitis, a disease of the immune system that is so rare it only shows up in 1 in 55,000 people. It attacked Jordan’s kidneys. Kevin had to live by himself during his first semester of college.

He went through dialysis every night while he slept. Then his coach Tom Walter stepped in, offering to donate his kidney.
VIDEO:

Tom Walter and Kevin Jordan underwent surgery on Monday, Feb. 7, 2011.

Read more at TheGrio.com

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