Sports

Inside the brash mind of Clint Frazier, the Yankees’ electric super prospect

ATLANTA — The road to The Bronx offers zero shortcuts, no easy way to earning pinstripes. Clint Frazier knows this as he now heads into his first full season in the Yankees organization.

That’s why the outfielder keeps pushing himself through every punishing exercise at Catalyst Fitness on Peachtree Road in the Buckhead section of Atlanta.

Each drop of sweat that runs off the bridge of his nose is another small step forward. With every explosive, muscular motion he uses to push, pull and swing a long 27-pound tube called ViPR, a training tool that improves balance, agility and dynamic strength, his signature long flowing red hair sways with him.

Frazier works out with fury and power, just as he plays the game, a whirling dervish on the diamond.





“I play like my hair is on fire,” the Yankees phenom proudly told The Post this week. “It’s fiery, like my personality. It’s big hair, and I try to make my personality big. I think it represents me because it’s different, I’m different, it’s unique to who I am. It makes me one of a kind.’’

Frazier, the fifth overall pick of the 2013 draft by the Indians, was traded to the Yankees in the deadline deal for Andrew Miller last year. At 22, he is hopeful of breaking through from Triple-A to The Bronx, a goal he set for himself in kindergarten when he drew a picture of a baseball diamond and wrote he wanted to be “a famous baseball player.’’





His mom, Kim, still has that picture.

To that end, he is engaged in a relentless offseason fitness program, offering The Post an inside look at his intense sweat-soaked efforts and later in his day, an in-cage view of his powerful, quick right-handed swing. Frazier has been described by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman as possessing “legendary bat speed.’’

“I do swing for the fences. I talk a big game, I better back it up soon,’’ Frazier said with a knowing smile. “I think I know how to excite people. I made a joke on Twitter the other day that I am my own hype man, I don’t need somebody else to hype me up. My competitive nature fuels me.

“I know I can bring a lot to the table, and I want my table to be full of polished parts. I have to be more consistent as a hitter. I want to be better in the outfield, I want to be better on the base paths.





“I have to talk myself up, it’s me and that batter’s box against that pitcher, no one else is there. I prepare myself to be ready, so it’s time to go out and play.’’

Spring training is just around the frozen corner. Frazier cut to the chase.

“You may not like me, but I have the mentality you are going to respect me,’’ he said as he drove his black Rhino Liner Jeep Wrangler through Brookhaven, a northeastern suburb of Atlanta. “I’m here to be a good teammate, I’m here to win, but I am not here to make friends. I respect my opponents, but when I step on the field I am not there to be your friend. I’m there to win a game or help win a game.





“The mentality I bring to the game is ‘I’m going to get this done.’ ”

Frazier hits in a batting cage in Chamblee, northeast of Atlanta, that features two huge flat screens, simulating Yankee Stadium — with each swing, showing exit velocity, the path of the ball and distance.

Know thyself and thy ballpark.

“I can’t wait to pound the ball into those right-field seats,’’ Frazier said after a 105 mph exit-velocity blast as he worked diligently on his opposite-field power.

It’s simulated now, but make no mistake, the Frazier Show is coming to New York soon.

“I’m going to start this season at Triple-A, but I know where I want to finish this season,’’ Frazier said with confidence. “My performance is going to dictate my destiny. And I have visions of finishing in The Bronx.’’

Frazier had hamstring injuries last season and is doing a new workout this winter with new personal trainer Bill Sonnemaker at Catalyst Fitness, where Jon Lester also works out in the offseason.

“Clint has the building blocks,’’ Sonnemaker said. “All you have to do is organize those building blocks, where with other people you have to create those blocks. Here, all we have to do is sequence them in the right order. The sky is the limit for a guy like him. He is not your average baseball player.’’

Frazier is a physical beast and is mindful of what he puts in his body — except for Oreo milkshakes — noting high blood pressure runs in his family. On this day he burns 1,007 calories in this blast of a workout.

Frazier batted .263 with 16 home runs and 122 strikeouts over 463 at-bats last season at Double-A and Triple-A. He is working on cutting down his powerful swing.

At Loganville (Ga.) High School, he once hit a home run 500 feet. On YouTube, you can see the necks of the opposing players in the dugout turn with a jerk in disbelief. “That’s my favorite part,’’ Frazier said of the video.

He has broken bats over his leg after striking out, à la Bo Jackson. He has immense power. He needs consistency.

On the screen of the radio in his Jeep is the name: “(Expletive) G.O.A.T.’’

It is there for motivation.

“It’s just an inside joke,’’ he said.

“That’s what I’m trying to set out to be. I want people to look at me and say, ‘Wow, that guy is good.’ I want my hard work and dedication to be noticed and I want to inspire people around me to work as hard as I do. Nothing came easy for me. I believe in myself and I want it to be known. I don’t set out to think I can really be the greatest player of all-time, but I want to be the greatest player I can be. That’s the goal.’’

Frazier has built a relationship with Yankees legend and Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who has a special way of connecting with young Yankees.

“Reggie is like a father figure to me,’’ Frazier said.

Frazier was struggling in a road game late in Instructional League this fall in Florida, telling Jackson he was putting too much pressure on himself with every overaggressive swing he took.

“Get all your stuff together,’’ Jackson told Frazier after the game, “you are not riding the bus. You’re riding back with me.’’

So there was Frazier in full Yankee uniform getting in Reggie’s car.

“We stopped to get frozen yogurt,’’ Frazier said. “We got out of the car and people are looking at us and I say, ‘Reg, if people had any question [whether] you are Reggie Jackson I believe you are covered because I am in full Yankees uniform right now.’ We got our frozen yogurt and we connected on a personal level. He told me some things about his past and I told him some things about mine. It was awesome.

“I shot a text to my mom and dad, ‘I’m at a frozen yogurt with Reggie Jackson.’ My mom was like, ‘What!’

“I’ve probably watched the documentary on Reggie eight times,’’ Frazier said. “His home run trot, I love it. There is so much swagger in his home run trot. So much of his personality is in the way he is running around the bases. He’s my favorite player.

“I called him recently and he had a conversation with me and my dad for 30 minutes, and my dad was like a little kid talking to him. I will never compare myself to Reggie, but the way he felt about himself, the way he acted, I want to emulate that — in a good way. I don’t want to make people hate me, but he is intimidating. That’s the way I want to be.’’

Jackson told The Post: “I love the fact that when he called me over the winter from Atlanta, he was spending time with his dad. His father [Mark] was throwing him batting practice.

“To be honest with you, it made my day. It made my day that one of our kids that is an asset to us, wanted to call and talk baseball. I’m a Yankee. If you’re calling and talking to me, you love baseball and you love the Yankees and that’s what I’m there for. I’m going to be there for him.”

When Frazier was traded to the Yankees, Jackson first met him in the dugout at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

“I don’t know if he knew my name, but he called me Red and kept telling me I have to cut my hair,’’ Frazier said. “He and [Triple-A outfielder] Jake Cave had a pretty good relationship, and Jake was messing with him saying, ‘Reggie when you played, you had that Afro that was hanging over the hat.’

“All Reggie responded, and I love this was: ‘But Reggie hit 40.’

“That’s when I was like, ‘I’ve got to hang out with this guy.’ He worked with me every day in Instructional League,’’ Frazier said. “He swung for the fences. He impacted ballgames, took pressure off his teammates and that’s what I want to do.’’

Frazier signed for $3.5 million with the Indians. He purchased a townhouse this past year in Brookhaven. He lives with two lifelong friends, Austin May and Mitchell Webb. On the welcome mat, there is an interlocking NY.

Every time Frazier comes home, it reminds him of where he wants his baseball home to be.

“The way that somebody within the organization described the Yankees to me is’’ Frazier said, insisting this someone was not Reggie: “Other organizations are puppies. This is a beast. That’s who the Yankees are. They’re a beast. They have 27 world championships. No one else even comes close to that.”

On Twitter he has written #RoadTo28.

“You look at the names of the jerseys that are retired,’’ Frazier said. “The players who played there. It’s different. I felt different the second I got to Instructional League and the guys they brought around. Overall, it’s an environment set up for success. There are too many good people in that organization — at the major league level and on the way — for us to not thrive.

“Yankee fans have welcomed me with open arms on social media. I’m excited to meet them,’’ said Frazier, who already has a Yankee Stadium capacity crowd full of followers.

On his dresser is a photo with him, Reggie, Tino Martinez and some Yankees coaches. It’s another reminder. Frazier had an Indians jersey in a frame on his bedroom wall. The other day it fell and broke.

“That was a sign,’’ Webb said.

“I’ve got to get a Yankees jersey framed,’’ Frazier said.

“He’s going to bring some sizzle,’’ May said. “But he is not going to be reckless. He’s going to be good for that city. His heart is in the right place. They say money doesn’t change you, it exposes you. When he was lucky enough to sign the deal he did, he did not change one bit. If anything it made him more generous.’’

“There’s going to be some controlled madness,’’ Webb said. “The Yankees have a lot of young talent now, it’s going to be a millennial takeover.’’

Frazier is a devout Christian and points to his parents for instilling those values. On his left wrist is a tattoo: Phil 4:13, which stands for Philippians 4:13: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Quietly, Frazier has reached out to those in need and wants to continue to help as he climbs the ladder. By doing so, he helps himself as much as others.

“I want to impact other people’s lives and be more than a baseball player,’’ Frazier said.

As we talked, he thought back to the first time he picked up a bat.

“My mom got me started, she would throw to me in the front yard,’’ Frazier said. “It was a yellow bat. She taught me to swing for the fences and I’m still doing it. Hitting a home run is my favorite feeling. All eyes are on you. Everyone is watching you.”

His father, who had a batting cage in the basement of their family home, was his coach until ninth grade.

“When I got drafted, I got the chance to tour Yankee Stadium,’’ Frazier said about a trip to The Bronx. “I got the chance to sit in the dugout, walk on the field, saw my picture on the scoreboard. I don’t want to step on that field again, until I’m debuting.

“I already got a taste of Yankee Stadium when I was 18, I want to get the final chew when I’m 22. I feel really good going forward. I think it’s going to be awesome.’’





Share this: