Clint Frazier’s mercurial New York Yankees tenure officially came to an end when he was DFA’d on Nov. 19 as part of a 40-man roster shuffle that technically never needed to happen (thanks, MLB lockout!).
Plenty of ink has been spilled about Frazier’s apparent glee about leaving the Yankees organization and joining the Cubs, but regardless of the wording of his messages, it’s obvious that he wanted to be free, and in order to do that, he’d have to leave New York.
Frazier finally opened up on some of his myriad issues with team personnel and local media hacks on this week’s “Short Porch” podcast, presented by Barstool Sports, pulling back the curtain on the moments we all remember that never quite added up.
As Frazier says on the show, everything he tweeted for four years was called “cryptic”. Every photo he took in front of a “Scranton” sign was regional news. Every time his hair bounced, it made waves.
Now, he’s taking the opportunity not to seek vengeance but to create clarity.
In a two-hour, wide-open podcast appearance, Frazier dispelled plenty of the myths about his always-“controversial” (thanks to the decisions and behavior that surrounded him) tenure in the Bronx. It’s absolutely worth a listen.
Yankees OF Clint Frazier opened up about Yankees tenure on “Short Porch” podcast.
Among the most revelatory moments of the two-hour show, Frazier compared his constant demotions to Scranton to being sent to prison, and made it very obvious he perceived the same thing the rest of us did when he was sent down back in 2019 despite hitting .362 with runners in scoring position that season. Occasionally, it was about something more than finding the best on-field fit in the Bronx.
Though Frazier makes it very clear he believes Brian Cashman to be his “boy,” he claims there were others inside New York’s front office and inner workings who made getting his next job extremely difficult.
And then there’s NJ Advanced Media’s Randy Miller, who’s a major part of Frazier’s supposed “villain origin story.” The animosity between the two began when Miller confronted Miguel Andújar about an error he made in one of his first games at first base. Frazier muttered something under his breath, leading to Miller racing over to the other side of the locker room to scream at the outfielder. After that, Frazier never saw Miller in the Yankees locker room again … though Miller did reportedly follow him to a minor-league stop. Wild.
While often light-hearted and revealing, the interview did slip into a dark place when Frazier discussed the real reason for his 2021 downturn: his concussion issues, which he admitted his got activated by crowd noise.
Perhaps that’s why Frazier thrived in empty stadiums in 2020 with renewed concentration? Or maybe his 2021 campaign was further derailed by running into a wall in spring training, aggravating things that had once been hidden?
All Yankee fans should rid themselves of the resulting saltiness from Frazier’s “glad to be gone” tweets and listen to this interview to get a fuller picture of the man’s trials in pinstripes.
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