New York Yankees: Clint Frazier deserved to get sent to Triple-A

Poor fielding

This is obviously the weakest part of Frazier’s game and it was exposed in the most recent Boston series. Look, right field isn’t Frazier’s natural position. He was bound to make an error or two every once in a while, but he couldn’t even field a routine ground ball out there. His three errors are tied for the second most among all Major League right fielders.

It’s fair to say that nobody has ever seen Frazier field this poorly in the outfield. Not even when he was coming up through the Minor Leagues. Maybe it’s the nerves of being on the biggest stage in baseball. Or his difficulties might be chalked up to starting in right field as part of the biggest rivalry in professional sports.

Regardless of the reason, if a player wants to make it in the show without a good defensive game, he better have a heck of a bat to offset it. Frazier’s bat is good, but not good enough to make up the difference.

Mental warfare

Playing for the most historic franchise in all of sports can obviously be stressful. It comes with a ton of pressure. Replacing the face of this franchise, and a former MVP is also incredibly stressful as well.

There’s always a feeling that your place on the roster is in jeopardy when the star comes back. All of these outside issues can have a toll on your overall play, but it shouldn’t completely overshadow it.

The past few months, Frazier has been so worried about the possibility of his spot in the lineup being taken back by Judge, that he’s been an emotional roller coaster on and off the field. Passion is good to have in any sport. It shows the leadership of the player and how much they care for the game. In Frazier’s case, it’s almost as if it completely changes the way he performs on the field and acts in front of the media.