R.A. Dickey vs. Prince Fielder: Major League Baseball All Star battle
One of the most interesting battles of this year's All Star Game will be between Detroit Tigers' first baseman Prince Fielder and New York Mets' R.A. Dickey.
Both players have something unique about them. Dickey has remained a mystery for most of the hitters in the National League where as Fielder hit 28 home-runs at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas to win the 2012 Home Run Derby, showing the hitting skills he possesses.
Although Matt Cain is likely to start the game for the National League tonight, the starter Fielder will get to see R.A. Dickey's knuckleball in the fifth or the sixth inning.
In the final chapter of his book, Dickey talks about one of the fiercest hitters he has come across in his long Major League Baseball career. Writing two full pages about Fielder, he regards him as the best power hitter the game has ever seen.
"The duels with Prince Fielder that day remind me why I love what I do so much," Dickey wrote. "There's nothing like it. It's what I will miss the most when I'm not playing anymore."
He further writes that he loves to compete against Fielder, who has a great eye. Fielder looked untroubled by Dickey's knuckleballs when he faced him for the first time in his career to deliver an RBI single. It will be interesting to see if he can distract
him once more to help the American League All Star team prevail in Kansas City.
In an interview with a leading sports website, Fielder stated that he does not think too much about the opposing pitcher.
"I just try to see it," Fielder said, meaning the baseball. "My plan is to see it. If I can see it, then I try to hit it. If I go too far into (analysis of the pitcher), I forget what the main goal is, and that's to try to see the ball and hit it. That's
usually my goal for everything."
Instead, he looks for the ball so he can hit it. Considering what Fielder has done in Monday's Home Run Derby, Dickey and Cain will be hoping to keep him quiet on the plate for as long as possible.
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