Yankees Clint Frazier compounds mistake by avoiding media

It’s one thing to misplay a ball, but Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier certainly didn’t do himself any favors by first jogging after said ball and then avoiding the media following the 8-5 defeat to the Red Sox.

Accountability. It’s something professionals, no matter what line of work they find themselves in should have. Naturally, displaying such a manner befitting the Yankees isn’t for everyone — or at the very least, comes inherently.

Therefore, on Sunday night, Clint Frazier proved to Yankee fans and the hungry New York media that he still has a lot of personal growth to undergo before he understands what wearing the iconic pinstripes is genuinely all about.

No one is perfect — errors, albeit mental or physical, are part of the game. And while Frazier has gotten quite a bit of deserving guff about his recent inadequate defensive play, he’s still on 24 — and appeared in a total of 95 major league games since 2017.

However, failing to hustle after a costly mistake (three runs scored)  — only to compound the indirection by refusing to speak with the media and leaving his teammates to hold the bag is an awful look.

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Frazier’s bat has proved that his lively bat is big league ready, but his defense — and now attitude, warrant a different discussion.

Camera operators and journalists waited nearly a half hour outside the media restricted area of Yankee Stadium for Frazier to emerge — and face the music. Sometime later, a team rep appeared to let it be known Frazier was not talking.

Bush-league, sure. Which is surprising, considering the Yankees minor league system conduct an intensive media training course, and Frazier has three full seasons of it under his belt.

The hope would be that for a player, that has spoken so adamantly about taking Brett Gardner’s job this spring, that he could have taken a page out of Gardy’s book — acknowledged his blunder, learned from it and swiftly moved on.

But no, the Yanks are off on Monday. So now we wait to see what Frazier will say as to why he ducked the media and his responsibility as a professional.

Brendan Kuty of NJ.com spoke with several Yankees postgame, all of whom did their best to prop up their defeated teammate.

"“You’ve just got to stay positive. The guys got his back. Everyone is going to make those mistakes,” first baseman Luke Voit said.“There’s going to be days when things seem like they’re not going your way,” center fielder Aaron Hicks said. “It just seems like the ball is always being hit to you. That’s just a time where you learn you have to slow the game down. Know the situations that might happen before each play even starts and kind of control the moment and you’ll start to get clean innings out of it.”"