New York Yankees enigmatic outfielder Clint Frazier finally spoke out about his Sunday snubbing of the media.
Clint Frazier spoke to the media to address his rough defensive night against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday but also dropped some shocking news. The New York Yankees outfielder is unhappy with how he has been treated by the media.
“I don’t regret it,” Frazier said per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “To be fair, I don’t think I owe anyone an explanation, because it’s not a rule that I have to speak. … And it’s difficult, because the way I am perceived by people is not how I think that I really am. Stories that shouldn’t have been stories have been stories. Whether it started with the hair. Then it started with me asking for a number that I didn’t ask for. Then it started with another guy saying I should be out on the field playing through a concussion.”
To be fair to Frazier, he later owned up to his defensive miscues on Sunday, but that’s only half the battle sometimes. Owning up to those mistakes immediately following the game goes a long way in the locker room. Moreover, he mentioned he is having issues fitting in with the team.
“I know I don’t fit the mold of what some of the past and current Yankees are like and that may be why it’s a little bit harder for me to navigate every day,” Frazier said via Hoch. “I am trying to be myself in here. Sometimes it feels like people have an issue with me just being myself. It’s been difficult, it’s been hard. My entire life, I’ve always different and struggled to fit in because people perceive me a certain way.”
Though Frazier has only committed three errors in the field this season, his defensive struggles have been significant. He has struggled to catch routine fly balls and seems to have issues with fielding basics.
What really stands out here, however, is Frazier claiming he’s struggling to fit in while also calling out the media. Regarding the latter, that’s his own fault. He could have spoken to reporters after Sunday and simply said, “It was a rough night, but all I can do is keep working hard to get better.”
If Frazier is struggling to fit in with the team, though, that’s a bigger problem. The Yankees are trying to win a World Series and drama like this simply will not fly. Even Yankee manager Aaron Boone acknowledged that refusing to speak to the media on Sunday was a bad look.
“Part of being a big league player, and certainly part of playing here, is we want our guys to always respond when you have certainly played a specific role in a ballgame,” Boone said via Hoch. “That’s part of being a pro.”
Clint Frazier had better get it together, and soon.
