The New York Yankees ex-outfielder Clint Frazier has finally come out and discussed his last and final season with the Yankees. He admitted that mental stress affected his play. The once magical player with a quick bat went from a bright future to one of the Yankees’ most disappointing players while being immature and mysteriously having health issues.
Weeks after the Yankees parted ways with Clint Frazier and days after Frazier had more snarky comments about the Yankees, throwing the club under the bus, he has opened up and has explained his side of the story.
First, we should go back to 2018 when Frazier started the season on this disabled list due to a head-first concussion suffered during spring training when he crashed into an outfield wall. Then, fast forward to 2021, the Yankees got a scare in spring training when Clint Frazier slammed into the left-field wall going after a Willi Castro homer in the bottom of the fourth at Joker Marchant Stadium. I point out these two incidents because they may have something to do with his 2021 struggles.
Frazier’s time with the Yankees has been a roller coaster ride, taking him from being a heralded future Yankee star to being released by the Yankees and signing with the Chicago Cubs. Frazier’s ability to hit with his quick bat mainly was never a question, but his defense in the outfield dogged him throughout his Yankee career, causing him to be riding on the Yankee’s shuttle more than he should have been. His defensive abilities went from sub-par to sound, even to being considered for a Gold Glove Award and back down to questionable at best.
Frazier’s lack of maturity also dogged him throughout his time with the Yankees. Frazier refused to talk to reporters after one poor game in the outfield. After poor play and being sent down to Scranton on one occasion, Clint had some not-so-nice things to say about the team, even going to the point of scrubbing images and any mention of the Yankees from his social media accounts.
In 2021, Frazier played in only 66 games, batting .186. Frazier removed himself from a game on June 30, 2021, complaining of dizziness, and two days later was placed on the Yankees’ injured list. He underwent neurological testing in July and was sent on a minor league rehab assignment in August; there, he suffered another setback complaining of vision issues. These mysterious, undiagnosed health issues would lead him to sit out the remainder of the season. Some analysts believed he might never play the game again. On November 19, he was designated for assignment and released on November 23. A week later, he signed a one-year contract with the Cubs.
More recently, Frazier had some parting shots for the Yankees but said during an appearance on Barstool’s Short Porch podcast that it wasn’t until recently that he faced struggles with his mental health. It affected his quality of life, and he knew he needed to take it seriously.
“I was severely symptomatic with some of these past issues that I was having,†Frazier said. “I was like, ‘We gotta pick the pace up. I need help. I need serious f—in help.’’
As the 2021 season progressed, Yankee fans were confused and perplexed with the health issues affecting Frazier. It was first diagnosed as vertigo, then dizziness, vision problems, and depth perception problems; with most ruled out, it left fans and the Yankees wondering what exactly was going on. Frazier now admits it may have just been stress affecting his play.
“When people were all over me for diving, I was just trying to catch the ball,†Frazier said. “I thought the ball was right here, and it was right there.â€
He also admitted that feeling these symptoms prior to spring training, he never revealed them to the Yankee training staff. He said the team was never aware that he was “fighting for my life.†When the season started, those feelings came back, and even the crowd noise or lights affected his play.
“I showed up to spring training and started to feel better, and then it kind of, like, came back because I had an instance where I bumped the wall again,†he said. “I went into the whole season feeling that exact way.â€
Frazier admitted not having a diagnosis for his problems made things even worse. But, he said, regardless of me leaving the Yankees, I had cordial relations with manager Aaron Boone and felt he was friends with GM Brian Cashman, who “always had my back.†In closing, he said he hoped to have face-to-face conversations with some when he returned to the stadium with the Cubs.
The New York Yankees and their fans wish Clint nothing but the best with the Cubs.Â