Jay Bruce congratulates Todd Frazier on his second Major League home run in Chicago. (Getty)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sitting in front of his locker in the visitor’s clubhouse at Nationals Park, Todd Frazier kept one eye on the television, showing a first round matchup of the Little League World Series.
“This and March Madness I’d still watch every day,” Frazier said.
Thirteen years removed from winning the Little League World Series with Toms River, Frazier is in his first big league season with the Cincinnati Reds, who drafted him 34th overall in 2007 out of Rutgers.
The Point Pleasant, N.J., native was the star of the Toms River team as a shortstop and pitcher. He led Toms River High School South to a pair of state titles at shortstop and won the Big East at the same position with Rutgers in his junior season.
Now he is a third baseman, playing regularly in place of an injured Scott Rolen.
“Working as a 6-year-old playing baseball, then you’re playing and you’re 21, still doing good things and helping your team win titles — it’s just amazing,” Frazier said. “Then you get drafted and now I’m playing in my ultimate dream, it’s a dream come true. You can’t put into words the whole ride getting here. Thinking back on it, it’s been a great life.”
From the time Frazier’s Little League career started, he was the star of the team.
He picked up the win and went 4-for-4 with a home run in the 1998 championship game against Japan. He was an All-American and won Big East Player of the Year his final year in Piscataway, where he is the all-time leader in home runs with 42.
He worked his way through the Reds’ system, received the call to join the team in Philadelphia on May 23, and pinch-hit in his Major League debut.
Then his bat flew out of his hands and into the crowd, where about 60 family members and friends sat at Citizens Bank Park, and he struck out on four pitches.
“It was something to forget a little bit,” Frazier laughed, “but at the same time, cool to get the call and understand that you’re a big leaguer.”
Without a real need for the utility player on the roster, Frazier returned to Triple-A Louisville the next day. Then Rolen landed on the disabled list with a strained left shoulder and Frazier returned to get regular starts and at-bats at third base.
The 25-year-old got his first hit in his first game back July 22 against Braves reliever Scott Linebrink and hit his first homer July 31 against Giants left-hander Barry Zito.
“He has a lot of sock in his bat,” said Reds manager Dusty Baker. “Like most young players, he has thing he needs to improve on, but he has power. When he meets it, there’s no doubt about it. He just has to have some more consistency in between.”
Twenty-five games into his second big league stint, Frazier started 15 games — 13 at third base, one at first base and one in left field.
He hit .196 (11-for-56) over that time with four homers, three doubles and nine RBI.
“Pitchers understand that I might reach out for certain pitches, so there’s little mistakes you have to hone that maybe you got away with in the past, but now they’ll exploit you,” he said. “It’s been a learning experience this first month or two for sure.”
His parents flew to see some games in Cincinnati, and he had a crowd at Nationals Park on Thursday for the series finale against Washington.
Frazier keeps in touch with his former Rutgers teammates and still considers college roommate Tom Edwards one of his best friends. He calls head coach Fred Hill throughout the season, and returns to campus to watch basketball games during the offseason.
He can eat anything he wants in clubhouses throughout Major League Baseball, but he can still recite the ingredients to his favorite fat sandwich — the Fat Beach.
“I could go for about two of those right now,” he laughed.
Frazier doesn’t consider himself much of an Internet person, but as one of two Rutgers products in the Major Leagues, he realizes he still has a following at home.
And he still perks up when a reporter more than 200 miles from home tells him he goes to Rutgers, when he shares stories about Hill and his Big East title, about off-campus housing, New Brunswick food spots and the nightlife — “that was great there too.”
“Rutgers is one of those colleges and places — especially Jersey — where people stick together,” Frazier said. “You don’t see that often at a lot of different universities. It’s like a tight-knit little family and they root for you in everything you do. I do understand the following at Rutgers because it was one of the greatest times I ever had.”
— Steven Miller
