Thumbs down a sign of success for Todd Frazier, Yankees
NEW YORK (AP) Todd Frazier never imagined his thumbs-down salute becoming a trend.
''You think something so opposite of what's supposed to happen is actually like cliche now,'' the New York Yankees third baseman said Friday, a day after his inverted digit caught on with teammates during a 13-5 rout of the Baltimore Orioles.
No sign of disapproval here. On a team where all single digits have been retired, all-thumbs is a sign of respect.
Hand histrionics began Monday night at Citi Field, where the Yankees' three-game series against Tampa Bay was played because of Hurricane Irma in Florida. Frazier hit a three-run homer off the facing of the second deck in left during in a five-run fourth inning.
A bearded fan wearing suspenders, sitting in the second row behind the visitor's dugout, was caught by a television camera making the thumbs-down gesture. NJ Advance Media identified the fan as Gary Dunaier, a Queens resident who owns Mets season tickets and said a member of Yankee Stadium security yelled at him when he asked the guard to move while taking a picture in 2012.
Frazier embraced the expression Wednesday and gave his dugout a thumbs-down after hitting a go-ahead single in the second inning in a 3-2 victory over the Rays.
A day later, Frazier was greeted by the thumbs-down from New York's entire dugout after hitting a three-run homer into Monument Park that chased Baltimore's Wade Miley in a six-run first inning. Frazier didn't notice until he saw replays.
Aaron Judge told Frazier that since success followed the gesture, he should keep it up.
''Seeing that fan that did that, it was pretty comical, so I thought it'd be a good thing for Fraz to do, and it kind of caught on with the whole team,'' Judge said after hitting a pair of three-run homers for a career-best six RBIs.
''Usually we point at each other,'' Gary Sanchez said through a translator. ''It's just a way to have fun.''
Getting a hand from teammates - especially one with a turned-down thumb - makes Frazier proud.
''It's good for bonding,'' he said. ''We got pretty lucky. We weren't even supposed to play in Citi Field. The camera guy has to be on point. Just wondering where the stars were aligned.''
Acquired from the Chicago White Sox in July, the 31-year-old Frazier is hitting .226 with nine homers and 27 RBIs in 193 at-bats for New York. He was out of the starting lineup Friday because of a stiff back.
A free agent after the season, Frazier would like to re-sign with the Yankees. He was born and raised in New Jersey.
He thinks inviting Dunaier to Yankee Stadium might be a good idea, to improve on the 2012 experience.
''We might have to bring him in the clubhouse here and just walk around and just look at everybody with his thumbs-down and say a prayer,'' Frazier said, ''and the next thing you know the next guy will take off.''
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