While he’s no longer part of the organization, Clint Frazier is still finding ways to make Yankee news.
The 27-year-old Cub, who was designated for assignment and eventually released by the Yankees in November, told reporters in Chicago that he did not tell the Yankees that he suffered a concussion in 2020 after crashing into the outfield wall. That was Frazier’s second concussion, and by his account, the one that had the greatest negative effect on both his baseball abilities and everyday life.
“It was basically like a hangover every day,” Frazier said in an NBC Sports Chicago interview. “Except I felt slowed down, one step behind. He went on to say that he kept things private because, “I knew what would happen if I didn’t play.”
The second concussion happened in a September 2020 game against the Blue Jays, and in the Yankees’ Wild Card series against Cleveland that fall, Frazier only made one plate appearance. In the subsequent Division Series with the Rays, Frazier again found himself behind the eight ball, losing playing time to Brett Gardner. Though he hit a home run in one of his seven at-bats vs. Tampa Bay, Frazier was still dealing with the impact of his secretive condition.
“I obviously kept certain things to myself in 2020,” he said. “They weren’t really made aware until I pulled myself from that game in 2021.”
That game in question came on June 30. That was the last time Frazier played in the big leagues, as he went on the injured list with what the Yankees initially called vertigo. The whole saga continued to play out in bizarre fashion, first with team doctors ruling out vertigo in favor of general blurred vision and dizziness, then sending Frazier to see multiple specialists that didn’t seem to help. He’d play three August rehab games in the minor leagues before officially being shut down for the rest of the season.
“I don’t think people really understand what it’s like until you experience it yourself,” Frazier said of his head injuries. “People would say, ‘Oh, he’s just having a headache.’ It’s not a headache. Your quality of life is certainly hindered whenever you go through a brain injury.”
As of Thursday morning, Frazier is 3-for-8 in his first spring training action with the Cubs. He’s walked three times and made a charging, sliding catch along the foul line, both signs that his depth perception and ability to read pitches are in somewhat good shape again.
When the Yankees’ 2021 season ended, Frazier tweeted that he’d “have the opportunity to talk about this situation publicly and probably plan to do so soon.” That opportunity came this week with the revelation that he concussed himself and did not tell anyone. Frazier is competing for playing time in a crowded Chicago outfield, which now includes Japanese free agent Seiya Suzuki.
With Suzuki cemented in one of the three spots, and Ian Happ likely getting another, Frazier’s greatest competition seems to be veteran Gold Glover Jason Heyward and 30-year-old Rafael Ortega, who has played 1,121 games in the minors over 13 seasons compared to just 246 games in the bigs.
