Forget the tofu for Fielder

The Prince Formerly Known as Vegetarian is now officially an omnivore.

Among the weighty topics the Detroit Tigers' new first baseman addressed at Comerica Park on Thursday was his diet. Having very publicly given up meat in 2008, it turns out he quickly — but quietly — put down his bean sprouts and went back to Big Macs a short time later.

"Let's just do this now," he said. "I am not a vegetarian. Let's just knock that off. I was for three months, but I am over it."

The announcement will come as a relief to the vegetarians who emailed me after Thursday's column, which gently pointed out that he was the largest plant eater not currently on the endangered species list.

"I'm happy to have Prince as a Tiger," wrote Sean Reilly, "but please don't call someone who orders a plate of ribs a vegetarian."

Fielder, who's listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 285 pounds, went meatless after his wife, Chanel, picked up a copy of a tome called "Skinny Bitch" at an airport. He exchanged recipes with reporters and fans and became something of a poster child for healthy eating.

"He read the book and I guessed it spoke to him," she said. "He tried it, and he didn't have much support behind it. So he moved on."

As for the Tigers and their fans, they just want him to hit 35 homers and drive in 100 runs. If he can do that, it won't matter what he eats — tofu dogs, hot dogs or hippos.