One of the first orders of business for new White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier will be getting manager Robin Ventura to sign off on a special request.
Literally.
A buddy in the baseball memorabilia business a couple of years ago gave Frazier a photo of the famous 1993 brawl between Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan and Ventura, then the Sox third baseman. Ryan, who notoriously gave Ventura a noogie, already autographed the picture: “Don’t mess with Tex.” Ventura’s signature is all that’s missing.
“It’s in my garage at home but I’ll have to bring it in so he can do that for me,” a smiling Frazier said Thursday at US Cellular Field. The affable Frazier hopes to leave just as indelible of an impression on the Sox organisation that traded for the two-time All-Star as part of a three-team package involving the Dodgers and Reds, his former team. His wife, Jacquelyn, was two days away from giving birth to the couple’s second child last month when they got the surprising news.
“She took a step back and was like, ‘Where are we going to live now?’ “ said Frazier, who felt comfortable in Cincinnati. “I said, ‘Just relax, you’re having our child in two days, don’t even think about that stuff.’ The baseball stuff I’m not worried about. It’s the other stuff I have to figure out.”
That other stuff brought Frazier to town a few days before Friday’s SoxFest to hunt for a home for his family, his first concern when he learned about the deal. Frazier spends the offseason in his native New Jersey living within 15 minutes of his two brothers, former major leaguers Charlie and Jeff, and parents Charlie and Joan, who cried when told the Reds had traded their son.
“My mom doesn’t like change, but she’s excited now,” Frazier said.
No more than the Sox, who need Frazier and his 35-home-run potential at The Cell to protect first baseman Jose Abreu in a lineup lacking one more consistent bat. Even after the addition of Frazier and second baseman Brett Lawrie from the A’s, the Sox offseason feels incomplete. They resemble a pitching-rich team stuck uncomfortably between reloading and rebuilding the rest of the roster.
They wisely avoided overpaying for enigmatic free-agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, whose attitude concerned the Sox, but signing free-agent Dexter Fowler would go a long way toward establishing legitimacy for 2016. Fowler would fit nicely in a clubhouse that values character and welcomes the kind of candor Frazier brings.
“That’s really important,” said Frazier, who turns 30 next month. “I mean, you don’t have to get along with everybody. It’s all right to have a little friction because sometimes that’s needed during the year. You don’t look for it. I’m just trying to meet everybody and get a sense of what they’re about ... like the new kid in school.”
The new kid who starred in college at Rutgers carries a distinct Jersey edge — “Always have, always will,” he said proudly — and an affinity for everything associated with his home state, where he spent last weekend’s blizzard staring out his window at 20 inches of snow. Around Toms River, N.J., Frazier always will be the 12-year-old kid who went 4-for-4 with a home run to help River East win the Little League World Series championship game in 1998.
“I embrace that because I’m still that guy,” Frazier said. “I talk about it all the time. We’ve been building dugouts and scoreboards there, at Frazier Field (named for his family). It kick-started my baseball career, so why not talk about it? It’s a special place in my heart.”
When Frazier heard the place he was traded, it was music to his ears. Frazier’s wife hails from Bruce Springsteen’s hometown of Freehold, N.J., but he favours ol’ blue eyes, fellow Jersey native Frank Sinatra. Within minutes of realizing he was headed to the Sox, Frazier says one thought popped into his mind.
“The first thing I really thought was I have a great walk-up song now ... ‘Chicago, Chicago’ ...” Frazier said. “It’s a perfect fit.” Sox officials say the same thing about a guy with a reputation around baseball as a leader in the clubhouse and community. Not much fazes Frazier, whose most jarring day in the majors came as a result of an incident off the field. Frazier and a former Reds teammate were having lunch at a Pittsburgh restaurant one day in 2012 when a patron began choking. Within seconds, Frazier sprung into action to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre he remembered from high school.
“He was a bigger guy, and I couldn’t even get my arms around him but I got it out,” Frazier said. “You think it just pops out like a cartoon but we really had to work to get it out of there. He was so grateful ... I was rattled. I couldn’t eat after that. I left half of my steak and was like, ‘I’ve got to get out of here.”