04 Jun Getting to Know New York Yankees Clint Frazier
Name: Clint Jackson Frazier
Nick Name: Red Thunder
Born: September 6, 1994 (age
24) in Decatur, Georgia
Height: 6’ 1”
Drafted: The Cleveland Indians
selected Frazier with the fifth
overall selection of the 2013
draft. The Indians traded Frazier
(among other prospects) to the Yankees in 2016
for relief pitcher Andrew Miller.
Debut: 7/1/2017
2019 Salary: $563,300
During 2019 Spring Training, manager Aaron
Boone announced that Frazier would likely start
the season in the minors. Frazier was first called
up on April 2nd in response to the Yankees having
three injured outfielders at
once: Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron
Hicks, and Jacoby Ellsbury.
How do you like playing in
New York? It’s awesome. Everyone
dreams of being in the
big leagues. To reach that goal
with what’s considered the
best baseball franchise in history
is awesome. You see the
guys all around the field and
the clubhouse who are considered
legends — Reggie Jackson,
Mariano Rivera, Mark Teixeira, A-Rod. A lot of
people still come around and I don’t think that’s
common with other organizations.
What do you think about your current 2019
Yankees team? This a really special team and
obviously things haven’t gone our way with guys
on the injury list. We’re shocking people but we’re
not shocking ourselves because we know what we
can do.
Who was your boyhood idol? Favorite baseball
player was Ryan Howard. But as far as hero, probably
my dad.
What’s been your best MLB moment so far?
I would say the first home run I hit. For me, the walk
off I had against the Brewers in my rookie season
is probably my favorite moment, but my best moment
to see is how my family and girlfriend reacted
to my first home run. I
would say my first hit, but that
wasn’t as special as the home
run to me — just the look on
all my loved ones’ faces once
I got the first home run out of
the way.
One hitter whose brain you
would have loved to pick? I
always loved Gary Sheffield.
He’s got a lot of bat speed,
and sometimes my bat speed
is maybe locked up in a sense
because I put my body in bad positions to hit the
ball, and I would like to talk to him to see how he
utilized the most out of his bat speed.
Is there one Yankee that you always wanted to
meet growing up? Yes, Reggie Jackson. My middle
name is Jackson, so I always wanted to meet
him. We actually went out for some frozen yogurt
together after I became a Yankee. It was very cool.
What is your scouting report on yourself?
A: A lot of bat speed. A lot of confidence. Someone
that’s looking to impact the game in any way
whether it be on the defensive or offensive side or
on the base paths. Someone who’s gonna go out
there and give you his all on every play.
If you were MLB commissioner for a day, what’s
one thing you would do? I would let you wear
whatever you want to wear out there. Kind of like
the NBA’s freed up the shoe policy, just something
like that. When you let guys go out there and show
their personality, they might play a little bit better.