ARLINGTON, Texas _ No one was closer to Prince Fielder in the Rangers clubhouse than Mitch Moreland. The two sluggers shared a position in first base and were locker mates in spring training and in Arlington, Texas. So it was particularly tough for Moreland to watch his close friend say goodbye to the game he loved Wednesday afternoon.
Fielder was forced to retire for medical reasons after a second neck surgery since May 2014.
"The game got taken away from him very prematurely in my opinion," said Moreland after Fielder's emotional news conference that included his two sons sitting next to him, along with the entire team, coaching staff and much of the front office on hand for support. "I want him to know that everybody in here is behind him, I'm behind him and I know he knows that."
Rangers players were in unison praising Fielder the teammate, the friend, the soul of the clubhouse.
"I was holding back tears the whole time," said Ian Desmond, who grew up hearing stories about fellow Floridian Prince Fielder. "To go out there like Prince has done his whole career and compete on a daily basis at an extremely high level shows his love for the game. Not only that, but his boys and his wife, it's a journey for all of us. It's a journey for all our families. To walk away from that early is something that I don't want to imagine, but I certainly respect everything he's done in his career."
Fielder, who is still wearing a brace on his neck since the July 29 surgery, struggled to make the announcement as his emotions took over. His two boys, Jayden, 12, and Haven, 10, were wiping away tears, too.
"It was tough to see him emotional like that and to see his boys up there crying. I have three kids of my own," Desmond said. "For them to be cut short of that, it's unfortunate. But he's just an awesome guy and awesome dad. He's raised two unbelievable kids and it sounded like that's what he was most proud of."
Elvis Andrus said it was tough to watch because he knows how much Fielder loves the game.
"He's one of our brothers. He always will be, regardless if he's playing or not," Andrus said. "We wanted to take care of him. It was important for us to be there in this tough moment. We wanted to let him know we were there to support him not just right now, but forever."
