NEW YORK — Todd Frazier has seen the highs and lows of Big Apple baseball. The slugging third baseman was the emotional clubhouse leader for the Yankees' improbable run to Game 7 of the 2017 American League Championship Series against the eventual World Series champion Astros.
After signing with the Mets as a free agent last winter, Frazier is enduring a miserable season in Queens. The two-time All-Star and 2015 Home Run Derby champ is on the disabled list. With injuries to stars like Frazier, Yoenis Cespedes and Jay Bruce, the Mets are 36-53 and once again playing second fiddle to the surging Yankees.
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This year, Frazier is celebrating the 20th anniversary of leading his young Toms River, N.J., teammates to the 1998 Little World Series title over favored Japan. (As a 12-year old kid, he got to stand next to one of his idols, Derek Jeter, at Yankee Stadium).
You know @FlavaFraz21 was pleased with the W tonight 😆 pic.twitter.com/czGxJKuyVU
— Jordan 🏂 (@metsfansince02) July 7, 2018
Sporting News caught up with the 32-year old Frazier as he led the #PIXMAPERFECT Baseball Mini-Camp for Little Leaguers with corporate sponsor Canon. Nicknamed the "ToddFather," the popular, wisecracking Rutgers University alumnus is the “perfect” spokesman for a brand like Canon, said marketing manager Kevin McCarthy (no relation).
Sporting News' Michael McCarthy asked Frazier whether the rebuilding Mets should deal Jacob deGrom, his Yankees experience and the dreaded shift employed around major league baseball Once he's done playing, Frazier seems like a natural for a TV booth. Excerpts:
SPORTING NEWS: Fans won’t stop debating this on New York sports radio: Should the Mets deal Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard for young talent?
TODD FRAZIER: I don’t think so. I really don’t. I mean, deGrom is a top starter any team he goes to, I mean 90 percent of baseball teams. Syndergaard, the same thing. I mean, you have two top dogs who, if they’re healthy, are two of the best in baseball. I don’t know who you need to get back for that, but it better be a boatload of guys that are either major league-ready now or who are on the verge of being ready to go next year. And who says these four or five prospects you get are even going to become major leaguers? I'm a big guy on track records and guys that have been there before. I said something funny like, "If we get two Mike Trouts, we’ll do it." You know what I mean. It’s just really difficult to see both guys like that go, because then you have to start over and it's not going to be a one or two-year plan, it's going to be a seven- to 10-year plan.
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SN: This has been a tough year for you and the Mets. You’re on the DL. The Mets have no offense. Do you want to stay in Queens?
TF: Without a doubt. We’re a good team; we just haven't played to the level we were supposed to. If we started out 5-6 instead of 12-2, (then) it would be a totally different story. We know how good we are. We talk about injuries all the time. I'm injured right now, (Yoenis) Cespedes, (Jay) Bruce. It's just an unfortunate series of events. There’s no rhyme or reason. It’s just where we’re at right now. We have a tough hill we have to climb. It’s going to be a tough second half, but we just have to keep grinding.
SN: You helped lead the Yankees to Game 7 of the ALCS. Talk about your experience in the Bronx after coming over from the White Sox.
TF: It was great. When you know you're getting traded during the trade deadline it’s just "Who?" Who's going to pick you up? Usually it's a playoff team. I thought it was going to be the Red Sox, at first. I was like, "Oh, that’s great, they are doing really well." When I found it was the Yankees, I was like, "Oh, this is even better." I have a lot of friends at home who are Yankees fans. The memories of playing with the Yankees are really cool. I think we brought back the vibe, the energy in the new stadium. They're doing well right now, so I’m happy for them, too.
SN: What did you notice about Baby Bombers like Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Greg Bird?
TF: Just the focus they had, not even during the game (but) before the games (and) how determined they were to try to get better. You don't see that from a younger guy as much anymore. They’re trying to learn, don’t get me wrong; the way they went about their drills, quality over quantity. At my age now, 32 in baseball is old, considerably older. Some days I took days off. You see these guys starting to take days off. Understanding their bodies. I wish I understood that at a younger age, too, as well. It feels like they’ve been there for a long time even though they've been there for a couple of years. It's refreshing. They're true professionals even at a young age
SN: Did you and your young teammates think you'd make it to one game from World Series? It was supposed to be a rebuilding year.
TF: We did. We thought we would win it all. I spoke to (Astros MVP second baseman) Jose Altuve after Game 2 or 3. We said whoever wins (this ALCS) is going to win it all. It was true. We had two really good teams. The games in Houston were the loudest I’ve ever been part of in a baseball game. We were indoors for one. It seems like every pitch was just blown up. Those fans are right on top of you. We believed. We were up (three games to two). We were like, "Let’s find a way to win one." Unfortunately, we just couldn’t do it.
SN: You won the Home Run Derby in 2015 and placed second to Giancarlo Stanton in 2016, but Stanton is skipping the Derby this year. Ditto for Judge, who won it as a rookie last year. Good move? Bad move?
TF: Where they’re at right now, and the way they’re playing, I think everybody needs the rest, but for me, personally, I want to look back with no regrets. When I get opportunities to do things like that . . . I don’t want to look back like, "I should have done that Home Run Derby," or, "I have should have done that contest," or whatever it is. But it was fun watching them last year. Oh, my God, for baseball it stinks, but I can understand where they're coming from.
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SN: As a Jersey boy, does playing in New York feel like home?
TF: Without a doubt. It's fun. It's a lot of fun. I tell people, the media here is different. You either hate it or love it. You have to take some things with a grain of salt. I've just been born with it. It just comes natural to me. My focus is on winning games, then anything after that. It's been great. I've played for both teams now. I got a taste of both sides of New York. I couldn't be happier, to be honest with you.
SN: Why do the Big Apple media seem to love you? Is it because you’re a gritty, get-your-uniform-dirty-type leader?
TF: I don't know. I talk to them all the time. They always come to me for answers. They know I'm going to be honest. I'm not going to give the same old "Oh, well, this is that, blah, blah, blah" answer. Sometimes I make fun of them, too. It makes for good friendships.
SN: This is the 20th anniversary of you leading Toms River to the Little League World Series. What team did you root for growing up in New Jersey?
TF: I wasn’t a fan of a team. I just loved players. Paul O'Neill was my favorite player growing up. I liked Manny Ramirez. I liked Nomar (Garciaparra), (Derek) Jeter. Mo Vaughn was another of my favorite guys.
SN: Let’s go big picture. What do you think of the shift?
TF: I hate it — because I keep hitting into it. I haven’t thought deeply into it, but it would be nice to have (infielders) positioned where they’re supposed to be. I think that would help out a lot of left-hand hitters as well (Frazier is a right-handed hitter). I don't know the exact rules of what they want to do with it: Do they keep a guy with one foot on the dirt or what have you? Yeah, I feel like I’ve hit into that shift a lot more. It’s a pain in the butt.
