Clint Frazier returned to a familiar setting on Tuesday night, at Yankee Stadium, as he looks to resuscitate his career with the White Sox.
“Regardless of how I play in this series, it took a lot for me to get back,’’ Frazier said before Tuesday’s game in The Bronx. “I try not to make moments bigger than they are. I’m just trying to get back to the way I used to play.
“Not a lot of guys can get back once they fall. I want to get back to who I am.”
It’s been quite a journey for the 28-year-old since he was released by the Yankees in November 2021 to end a tumultuous five years in the organization that began with much fanfare and general manager Brian Cashman’s “legendary bat speed” comment, to disputes about hair length and beards and then multiple concussions that impacted Frazier’s career.
Frazier called his time with the Yankees “more good than bad.”
“The biggest thing for me is, we don’t always get along with our coworkers,’’ Frazier said of his departure from the team. “For me to be in a new environment was needed. For me and maybe some other people. I don’t say with any ill will. Not everyone likes each other.”
But Frazier was effusive in his praise for Cashman and the two spoke by phone on Tuesday, with plans to meet during the series.
“I always felt, regardless how moves were made, he was always fair to me,’’ Frazier said. “He told me exactly how it was. That’s all you can ask for. He’s about as honest as it gets.”
“I’m glad he’s back in the league,’’ Cashman said. “I wish him the best.”
Of Frazier’s time with the Yankees, Cashman said, “Everybody did their best. We had high hopes. He did what he could and we tried to put him in the best situation possible. I’m not surprised with his competitive spirit that he made it back.”
It took a while.
It was almost a year ago when Frazier was last at the Stadium with the Cubs and was designated for assignment prior to a game on June 10 in yet another setback in a career that’s been full of them.
Since then, he struggled in the Cubs minor league system and got released, signed a minor league deal with the Rangers and was released again — despite hitting well — before ending up in the White Sox system.
Frazier was called up on May 21 and started off well, going 5-for-15 with a triple and three walks.
But in his previous six games before Tuesday, he was just 1-for-11 with four strikeouts.
He wasn’t in Chicago’s lineup on Tuesday night, looking leaner with the White Sox than he did for most of his time with the Yankees.
He said he’s about 17 pounds lighter than last year.
The more important difference, though, is that he said his concussion symptoms are in the past.
“I really did struggle with concussions,’’ Frazier said. “You look at what kind of player I was and then once I sustained those what happened.”
He hit well with the Yankees in 2019 and ’20, but his production cratered in 2021.
“I genuinely went through a really, really tough time with that stuff,” Frazier said of the head injuries. “These [pitchers] are nasty and if you’re not seeing straight, what good am I? I had to be honest with myself. I tried to play when I wasn’t healthy. It didn’t look good.”
Now, he’s hoping he can return to his previous form — and he was eager to do so at Yankee Stadium — or anywhere else in the majors.
“I did sift through the schedule once I got called up and realized ‘Oh cool, two weeks, you’ll get your feet wet real quick,’ ” Frazier said.
“But I’m just happy to be in Major League Baseball.”
And Cashman expects to see the same “legendary bat speed.”
“That’ll never leave him,’’ Cashman said.
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