Baseball legend Todd Frazier is bringing his signature swing and coronary heart again to the diamond, this time, for a trigger near house.
The previous MLB All-Star and 1998 Little League World Sequence champ has teamed up with OFF! Mosquito and Tick Repellents to launch the “Squish the Bug” marketing campaign, an initiative timed completely for each peak mosquito season and the Little League World Sequence race. The objective? Assist youngsters sharpen their hitting fundamentals whereas staying protected and bug-free throughout summer time play.
With baseball season in full swing, Todd Frazier caught up with The Blast to speak in regards to the significance of staying shielded from pesky bugs whereas having fun with time on the sphere.
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Todd Frazier Brings Baseball Fundamentals And Bug Safety Collectively With OFF! Marketing campaign
“I believe it is fairly easy,” Frazier advised The Blast. “Rising up in New Jersey, I understood how dangerous mosquitoes may be. There is a model I have been utilizing my entire life, OFF!, and now I am passing that alongside to my son Blake. It is a no-brainer.”
The marketing campaign features a particular turf mat modeled after house plate to show the basic baseball transfer, “squish the bug,” a movement that helps hitters use their hips for a stronger swing.
“I grew up listening to that phrase as a hitter,” Frazier defined. “Now I am instructing it to youngsters. You flip your bottom, get your hips concerned, and quite the opposite, it additionally helps hold mosquitoes away!”
The partnership feels full circle for Frazier, who is aware of how essential sports activities may be for a teen’s improvement.
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“9 out of ten mother and father imagine organized sports activities assist construct friendships and hold youngsters concerned, and I could not agree extra,” he stated. “I’ve at all times believed in getting youngsters concerned in no matter sport they take pleasure in. Now that I am teaching, I am attempting to go that mindset all the way down to the youth.”
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Frazier Displays On 1998 Little League World Sequence Win
Frazier’s journey started on a Little League discipline in Toms River, New Jersey, a second that formed his complete outlook.
“It brings again some actually cool recollections,” he stated of his crew’s 1998 championship run. “To this present day, I stroll down the road or right into a retailer and other people nonetheless say, ‘I bear in mind whenever you did this.’ It introduced our entire neighborhood collectively, and never simply Toms River, however your entire tri-state space.”
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Todd Frazier Remembers Depth Of Yankees Clubhouse And Dealing with MLB’s Hardest Pitchers
From there, Frazier went on to play for six MLB groups, together with the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, and New York Mets. One crew stood out.
“The Yankees clubhouse was completely ridiculous,” he recalled. “You stroll by guys like Aaron Choose and CC Sabathia, and also you higher convey your A-game. It was later in my profession, and it actually reset my focus, no coasting. Simply present up daily and compete.”
When requested in regards to the hardest pitchers he confronted, Frazier did not hesitate.
“Aroldis Chapman, my teammate in Cincinnati, I believe I went 0-for-10 in opposition to him,” he stated, laughing. “Max Scherzer’s fastball at all times rose. You by no means knew the place it was going. Lately, everybody throws 95+, and the ball strikes all over. It is wild how a lot the sport’s advanced.”
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Frazier Shares The Life Lesson He Teaches Each Younger Athlete
Nonetheless, for Frazier, the teachings he discovered in baseball lengthen far past the sphere.
“My largest factor I inform youngsters is [to] perceive failure. You’ll be able to settle for failure, however by no means anticipate to fail. That is the mindset,” he stated. “In case you go as much as bat anticipating to strike out, you are already behind. However for those who strike out and know you possibly can bounce again, that is the way you win. Not simply in baseball, however in life.”
Todd Frazier’s Tip For A Mosquito-Free Summer time?
As for the OFF! Partnership, Frazier is proud to face behind a product he trusts, and one which makes summer time play extra satisfying for everybody.
“It is nice for adults and youngsters,” he stated. “Straightforward spray-on, fragrance-free, non-greasy. I’ve received the turf mat in my batting cage proper now. All the children find it irresistible. They’re actually stepping on the bug and ‘squishing’ it. It is such a enjoyable method to educate the basics and hold mosquitoes away.”
