During the 2020 season, New York Yankees’ outfielder Clint Frazier improved a lot as a ballplayer. He made some adjustments in his stance and approach, he showed a lot more patience, and he was a Gold-Glove finalist. Few talent evaluators had Frazier capable of being an OBP machine, yet he slashed .267/.394/.511 in the short 2020 season.
What is the Yankees’ slugger primary goal this time around? Showing that he can maintain a similar level over the course of a full, 162-game season. It won’t be easy, as pitchers adjust and find holes in breakout hitters’ swings. But he is determined to do it.
“The goal is to be an impact player, one that shows what I can finally do over the course of 162 games,” Frazier said in a Zoom call with reporters, per SI.com. “I have goals in my head of what I want to accomplish and I do think that they’re pretty fair goals. If I accomplish those, I do think that there’s a good chance that I could find myself on the All-Star ballot if I produce the way that I hope that I can.”
The Yankees know what Frazier is capable of
If given a full slate of at-bats, which is the Yankees’ plan entering the season, Frazier could be capable of hitting 30 home runs, driving in 100 runs, and boasting his much-improved eye at the plate.
In just 39 games for the Yankees, Frazier hit eight home runs and had 26 RBI. The improvement he showed as a fielder was equally impressive, perhaps more.
He hasn’t had a particularly good spring, but the same can be said about a lot of his Yankees’ teammates, and most of them will be fine when the season rolls.
Last season’s performance was enough for the Yankees to name Frazier the starting left fielder. General manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone have praised him since last year’s transformation.
“It made me feel like I was a part of the team more because I’ve been the guy that’s trying to crack the lineup every opportunity that I can,” Frazier explained. “For both those guys to say the things that they said out in the public, it definitely made me feel a sigh of relief.”