Prince Fielder’s first MLB season was 2005. The Milwaukee Brewers promoted him from Triple-A Nashville, and he made his major-league debut on June 13, 2005, against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Fielder had been selected by Milwaukee in the first round of the 2002 MLB draft, seventh overall, after starring at Eau Gallie High School in Florida. He entered professional baseball with enormous expectations partly because he was the son of former Detroit Tigers slugger Cecil Fielder.
His first major-league stint was brief: he appeared in 39 games in 2005. He returned to the Brewers in 2006 and became their regular first baseman, playing 157 games and hitting 28 home runs. He later became a six-time All-Star and won two Home Run Derbies.
The wording can cause a small statistical mix-up. Fielder’s first MLB season was 2005, but 2006 is often treated as his first full season and was also the year he exceeded rookie-status limits. His professional career ended in 2016 after stops with Milwaukee, Detroit and Texas.