Fans Greet Toms River's Todd Frazier In Return From Olympics

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Todd Frazier said he knew something was up from the moment his wife, Jackie, Facetimed him Monday afternoon as he was arriving home after his silver-medal trip to the Tokyo Olympics.

"She had her hair down," he said. "I figured it was just going to be a family welcome."

The Major League Baseball star who spent the last two weeks in Tokyo as a member of the USA Baseball team instead was greeted with a street full of flag-waving fans, friends and family there to celebrate his silver medal achievement.

"This is unbelievable," Frazier said after hugging nearly everyone in the crowd, and posing for photos with his silver medal. "It's beyond my wildest dreams."

Frazier, who became a free agent in May after the Pittsburgh Pirates assigned him to the Class AAA Indianapolis Indians, was one of a handful of veterans who provided leadership to an Olympic roster full of minor leaguers hoping to make their mark. The U.S. team's only losses during the trip were to Japan, including a 2-0 loss in the gold medal game.

"We came together real quick," he said. "I'm so glad I got to be a part of it."

Frazier said he hoped, too, for a stellar Olympic performance to earn himself another Major League stint.

"I'm not sure what's next," said Frazier, who has spent 10 seasons in the major leagues, starting with Cincinnati in 2011. He added he's still considering his options. "I went out there wanting to put on a good performance in the last game, but unfortunately it didn't work out."

"Not too many people can say they won a silver medal," Frazier said.

The silver medal was hanging around his neck as Frazier was escorted the last mile home by fire truck, leading a parade of Pleasant Plains Fire Company fire trucks, first aid ambulances and Toms River police that met him at Toms River Intermediate North on Monday night, after a 12-hour flight to Newark.

Frazier said the Olympic experience was unforgettable.

"I met so many people from so many places," he said, adding that he was in awe of the elite athletic abilities he saw on display, from the speed of the track stars to the strength of the powerlifters. Learning more about other cultures "makes me want to travel the world more."

"Listening to the anthems of the different countries, seeing guys I've played with and against, everything was amazing," Frazier said.

The timing of his return also gives him an opportunity to see his nephew, Carson Frazier, and the Toms River East Little League team in the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament after cheering from afar as they made their run through the District 18, Section 3 and New Jersey state tournaments over the last few weeks.

The team plays Thursday evening in Bristol, Connecticut, in the Mid-Atlantic semifinals, with a win earning a berth in the Little League World Series in Williamsport — the same trip Todd Frazier made 23 years ago as a 12-year-old that was his first time the spotlight.

"It works out because it's the only chance I'll get to see them," he said. The Little League game is scheduled to be broadcast at 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN.

Frazier had been in touch with his nephew by phone over the last few days as the Little Leaguers headed to Connecticut, but he had not spoken to the team as a whole.

"They're making Toms River proud," he said.

That's a trait of the whole Frazier clan, it seems.

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