Yankees: Clint Frazier needs to stop running into walls

Injuries happen. They certainly happen to the New York Yankees, who started their morning Tuesday with a Zack Britton MRI and ended it with the knowledge their eighth-inning guy would miss a few months after bone chip surgery.

And, in between, Clint Frazier ran powerfully into the left-field wall, trying to save Luis Cessa the embarrassment of allowing a game-breaking spring training home run.

Spare me.

Injuries happen. But this specific injury can’t be allowed to happen again.

Frazier, famously, lost about a year of development, action and refinement to the harsh reality of post-concussion syndrome, after suffering the initial injury by … slamming into a wall in Bradenton in Spring Training 2018.

The tales of woe that followed the initial impact were harrowing. Frazier, by all accounts, got a completely new lease on life in the aftermath once the headaches and unease disappeared. The symptoms lasted through portions of 2019.

Going full-tilt in an important regular season game? Understood. No restrictions there. You bite your lip and run.

But how is Frazier still going to hurtle into walls during the month of March? 

That’s self-inflicted. That has to stop.

Is Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier fine after running into another wall?

Things got very scary on Tuesday, and as we learned last time, we’re not out of the woods yet just because Frazier remained in the game.

About two weeks ago, the “new” Frazier made an offhanded quip about befriending walls this spring, indicating he’d moved past the traumatic incident and was prepared to grab hold of his starting job with renewed vigor.

On Tuesday, we were treated to a uniquely destructive brand of foolishness instead.

There’s a stark difference between bad injury luck and creating your own luck.

Fans applauded Aaron Judge in the spring training opener when, given a chance to dive for a bloop single, he opted out, armed with the knowledge that he threw his 2020 season off course with a September 2019 dive that punctured a lung.

Fans will forgive the occasional spring training blooper. No one cares who ends this month as the AL’s champion; if they did, they would’ve heartily booed the insertion of rookie Luis Garcia, who blew a save Tuesday after Frazier’s efforts.

Frazier, after several embattled years, has been handed the starting job, no questions asked, when camp breaks. On Tuesday, he tried to hand it back thanks to an unforced error. And it’s OK to be upset about the terrible snap judgment.

Yankees: 3 fan favorites who could be traded by Opening Day

These New York Yankees fan favorites could still be trade bait by the time Opening Day rolls around for the squad looking to improve.