Clint Frazier, settling into his new surroundings with the Cubs, revealed to NBC Sports Chicago that he had suffered a second concussion with the Yankees in September of 2020, and was dealing with those lingering symptoms during his struggles at the plate in 2021.
Frazier, who crashed into the outfield wall in spring training prior to the 2019 season, said he suffered another during the shortened 2020 campaign during a game against the Blue Jays, complicating what had been his breakout season. Instead, he battled headaches and dizziness but kept it to himself after the impact his first concussion had on his career.
“I knew what would happen if I didn’t play,” Frazier told NBC Sports Chicago. “I obviously kept certain things to myself in 2020. [The Yankees] weren’t really made aware until I pulled myself from that game in 2021.”
That admission in 2021 came in June, when he alerted the Yanks of the lingering vertigo, similar to those that caused him all kinds of problems in the outfield in 2019, when he struggled with the outfield lights and depth perception. By June 30 of last season, Frazier was batting just .186 with a .633 OPS, and wouldn’t play for the Yanks again. He was released after the season and signed a one-year deal with the Cubs, where he hopes to resurrect what was once a promising career, having been the centerpiece of a Yankees trade for Andrew Miller back in 2016.
Frazier appeared to be getting back on that track in 2020, a year in which he posted an OPS over .900 through 39 games. But that collision with the outfield wall set him back once again. He had just seven at-bats in the 2020 postseason and managed two hits, including a home run in game one of the ALDS, and was tabbed as the Opening Day left fielder, but those secret symptoms derailed his season.
“It was basically like a hangover every day,” Frazier said. “Except I felt slowed down, one step behind. Fortunately I’ve had the opportunity to get past that.
“Baseball’s already hard, but it made it extremely hard.”
Frazier took plenty of criticism during his Yankee tenure, never recognizing the potential that made him a top prospect in the organization. He’s ready to write a new chapter in Chicago, and says he is feeling much better with the symptoms that he kept from the Yanks for much of last season.
“I think it’s fun to dream on what I can do,” Frazier said. “But I don’t think I fully know exactly what I’m capable of yet. I think that if I get a full season under my belt and I stay healthy, there’s a lot of opportunity that I can do some damage offensively. I just need to get that opportunity.”
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