"On top of everything else, Prince Fielder is durable.

Fielder leads all major leaguers in games played in the past three seasons with 485.

In those three seasons, he has missed one game.

Not only has he played in 485 games the past three years -- he has started 485.

In all six full seasons of his career, Fielder has started at least 150 games. Three years ago, he started to become the most durable player in baseball.

In 2009, he started all 162 games for Milwaukee at first base.

In 2010, he started 160 games at first and served as the DH in one interleague game. And he sat out one game due to flu-like symptoms -- his only missed game in the past three years.

In 2011, Fielder again started every game: 159 at first base, three at designated hitter.

Miguel Cabrera doesn't like to miss games, either. The only one he missed last season came for the birth of his third child. He appeared in the other 161 and started 159.

Maybe Tigers manager Jim Leyland wasn't kidding when he said Thursday of his lineup combinations for this season, "It's amazing, because in every lineup I've written down so far, Fielder and Cabrera are in that lineup."

Cabrera also was part of iron-man teamwork in 2009. In that season, the trio of Cabrera, Brandon Inge and Curtis Granderson each missed only a few games apiece."