"We expect power hitters to be big men. According to Baseball-Reference.com, of the 25 players who have hit at least 500 home runs, only four stood less than 6 feet in height: Willie Mays (5-feet-10), Mickey Mantle (5-11), Mel Ott (5-9) and former Tiger Gary Sheffield (5-11).

Prince Fielder, who already has 230 homers, is 5-11.

"The thing I find interesting is that your impression is that he's taller than he is," Nolan Ryan said on the phone from Texas. "So his strike zone is smaller. Anytime you have to pitch to a smaller strike zone, the challenges increase."

Fielder is the only player who has had at least 30 homers and 100 walks in each of the past three seasons.

"One of the biggest challenges of pitching to him is that he has a good eye and that he knows the strike zone," Ryan said. "He's just not a free swinger.""