Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder, who gained national attention during spring training when he announced his decision to become a vegetarian, is turning it up a notch now that the regular season is underway.
Upset about the Brewers' glorification of meat products during the nightly sausage race, which takes place between halves of the sixth inning during home games at Miller Park, Fielder has vowed not to field any groundballs or swing his bat during the sixth inning.
"I just think it's the right thing for me to do," Fielder said, sipping a post-game protein shake after the Brewers' season opener Monday afternoon at Wrigley Field. "Everything has been great since I became a vegetarian. I feel healthier. I have a lot more energy at the ballpark and when I play with my kids.
"I haven't missed meat at all. In fact, I kind of feel grossed out just thinking about it. I'm not saying people should become vegetarians. I think people should eat whatever they want. I just don't think it's right that the Brewers have that race every night, so I'm going to do what I can to let people know how I feel."
Brewers officials, who admitted to being blindsided by Fielder's protest announcement, are scrambling to find a way to appease their all-star first baseman and Klement's, which sponsors the sausage race.
"We are discussing our options," Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said. "The sausage race is very popular with many of our fans, so we would like to see it continue in some form. But, we also want to be sensitive to Prince's wishes.
"We are talking to Prince's agent, Scott Boras, about solutions, and we are talking to Klement's about adding a soy dog or some kind of non-meat sausage to the race. We hope to have something figured out in time for the home opener. We want Prince and our fans to focus on the pennant race and not the sausage race."
Officials from Klement's could not be reached for comment.
Fielder, however, said that the addition of a veggie dog would not prompt him to end his late-game work stoppage.
"I don't eat veggie dogs," he said. "They're just not very good. It's not so much the taste, it's more the consistency."
Brewers manager Ned Yost said he has not considered what he will do if Fielder goes "on strike" during the sixth and seventh innings.
"I'm trying to figure out how to win a game against the Cubs," Yost said. "The thing with Prince and his meat isn't even on the radar right now. My focus right now is on getting Jeff Suppan some runs so we can win the second game of the season. As long as that game isn't being played at Miller Park, I don't have to worry about the sausage race."
This is the second time that a sausage race controversy centered on a big-league first baseman. Several years ago, Pirates slugger Randall Simon was arrested for hitting the Italian sausage (portrayed by college student Mandy Block) with a bat during a game. Block suffered a scraped knee; Simon was arrested for disorderly conduct and suspended by Major League Baseball. "I wish Prince had been in the big leagues back then," Simon said from his home in Curacao. "It would have saved me a lot of hassle. I still get people yelling things at me in airports. They say 'Hey #%&*@#, you can't whack our wiener!'" ESPN baseball analyst Peter Gammons compared Fielder's situation to one confronted by another slugger -- Babe Ruth. "I think it was right around 1926 that the Yankees announced they were increasing the price of hot dogs by a nickel," said Gammons, who was a Boston Globe intern at the time. "The Babe was so upset that he cut down his pre-game hot dog consumption from 12 to just two or three and his OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) -- and his waistline -- really took a dip for a couple of weeks. But then they named a candy bar for him and he was back up to his optimal playing weight in no time." Brewers radio announcer Bob Uecker, entering his 38th season behind the microphone, expects the sausage-gate controversy to die down quickly. "I don't think it's a big deal," Uecker said. "Then again, I'm a Usinger's guy. Those brats are fantastic. Have you tried the chicken brats? They are really good. Just ask (former Braves star and Brewers employee Johnny) Logan. He's in the shop there every day." Brewers players showed support for Fielder's mission. "Prince is my guy," centerfielder Tony Gwynn, Jr. said. "The way I look at it, if he's taking pitches in the bottom of the sixth, it will give me a chance to steal some more bases." Suppan also tried to look on the bright side. "As pitchers, we're just going to have to be conscious of the fact that Prince isn't going to gobble up any grounders in the top of the sixth inning," he said. "That's not going to be a big problem, unless there are a whole bunch of lefties coming up. If teams try to bunt, I'm just going to have to get over there and make a play." Suppan, proprietor of a California restaurant called Soup's Sports Grill, plans to consult with Fielder and his chef to devise more vegetarian recipes for the menu. "We sell a lot of salads, but the Boca burger has not been very popular," Suppan said. "Maybe Prince will have some ideas." Fielder's protest may have sparked another mini-controversy in the clubhouse. Closer Eric Gagne, who is French-Canadian, and right-hander Ben Sheets, who grew up in Louisiana, are considering staging their own version of the sausage strike. "We think that they should add an Andouille sausage to the race, eh," Sheets said. "You can't make jambalaya without it." Fielder disagreed. "I had veggie jambalaya the other night and it was great," he said.
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