As the New York Yankees were contending for a playoff spot towards the end of the 2017 season, Todd Frazier found a rallying cry in the form of a thumbs-down hand gesture started by a Mets fan in the crowd while the Yankees were playing in Citi Field.
On September 11, the Tampa Bay Rays hosted the New York Yankees at Citi Field due to the effects of Hurricane Irma. After Todd Frazier launched a big home run a Mets fan was spotted in the crowd giving thumbs down and no one has looked back since.
The simple gesture turned into the Yankees “thing” down the stretch and even carrying into the postseason. Some may consider it a turning point in the season due to how greatly it benefitted the team’s chemistry and help them play more loosely.
Frazier finally got to meet the man himself on Saturday during a signing at Steiner Sports in Roosevelt Field Mall. Shown in the video above, Frazier seemed ecstatic to meet the man and they exchanged their hellos.
“It was good,” Frazier told the New York Daily News. “He’s a nice guy, to finally meet him and he looks good, he’s playing the part off well. He looks like an upstanding gentleman and it was nice to finally meet him.”
Frazier is still a free agent as we head closer and closer to Spring Training and it is unknown whether or not he will re-sign with the Yankees. In 2017 split between New York and Chicago, Frazier slashed .213/.344/.428 with 27 home runs and 76 RBI’s.
While Frazier would surely love to return to the New York in 2018, the Yankees don’t seem willing to offer him a multi-year deal which he is looking for. Losing his presence in the clubhouse could be a tough pill to swallow, but only time will tell how it plays out.
I hope Frazier finds another team that will pay him. I like Todd because he seems like a great guy, but I really don’t want to see him and his .215 batting average block Miguel Andujar another year.