It's been a mantra that Adam Frazier has followed since his time in the minor leagues: Be where your feet are.
But it's got to be tough to stay grounded when things keep happening that would make the average person want to do backflips.
After a late push in the second phase of voting, Frazier will be the starting second baseman for the National League in this year's All-Star Game at Coors Field in Denver.
"I'll enjoy it when that moment comes," said the ever-coolheaded Frazier after Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Brewers. "But yeah, dream come true and I get to share the field with some future Hall of Famers. Really good players. Just try to soak it all in when that time comes."
The league announced in a presentation Thursday night that Frazier edged out Ozzie Albies of the Braves with 47 percent of the vote to earn the starter's nod at second. Frazier was able to receive an ovation from the PNC Park crowd after the news was revealed in a video during a pitching change in the sixth inning Thursday. Ironically enough, it was Chris Stratton, his college teammate, who entered the game.
Frazier waited for Stratton to take the ball from Derek Shelton, then took a few steps from the mound and raised his cap to the 11,074 in attendance on a muggy and gray re-opening night.
"Trying to give the fans something, but at the same time, focus on the game. It's been a pretty cool past couple of days," Frazier said. "It's pretty tough to beat. I'm glad it's happened. Just locking back into the game tomorrow."
Frazier will start alongside come of the biggest names in the sport. Leading the way is 2020 MVP and Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, Padres superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado, potential Hall of Famer Buster Posey and Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Jr. with the Reds' duo of Nick Castellanos and Jesse Winker in the outfield.
The 29-year-old is the first Pirates player to earn a starting spot in an All-Star game through fan voting since Andrew McCutchen in 2014. He's the first Pirate to start at second base in an All-Star Game since Bill Mazeroski in 1967.
"Maz speaks for himself, just that name. Mention that name, and he's a Hall of Famer, legend, Pittsburgh legend especially," Frazier said. "Anytime you're mentioned with him, it's a pretty big honor."
"Now put some clothes on!" someone unfairly yells to Frazier just after Shelton makes the surprise announcement. https://t.co/LrTZkOMTUr
— Gerard Gilberto (@Gerard_Gilberto) July 2, 2021
Frazier is having a career-year amidst swirling trade rumors during his fifth season with the Pirates. He was one of three players with at least 100 hits entering Thursday night. After recording a single -- a generous gift from Willy Adames on a weak pop up at that -- in four at-bats Thursday, Frazier enters the weekend batting .326/.393/.468 with 24 doubles and 50 runs scored.
"The fans stepped up and voted the guy in that deserved to be in the All-Star Game," Shelton said. "No. 1, it's a credit to Fraz with everything he's done, and No. 2, it's a credit to our fans for stepping up and putting him rightfully where he belongs."
Despite his team's struggles, Frazier is having a pretty tremendous week, personally. The All-Star nod comes a day after Frazier's alma mater, Mississippi State, won the College World Series in Omaha.
Among a slew of congratulatory text messages, and seeing his name in the news for a number of other reasons -- namely, just about every article with the words "trade rumors" in the headline -- it's incredibly difficult for Frazier to, as he says, be where his feet are.
"You get caught up with that," Frazier said. "But I just try to take it in stride."
But with that goal in mind, Frazier has been getting it done with the bat just about every day since the Pirates reported for camp in February. It's an incredible bounce back and a career-year after a pandemic-stained season in which he batted just .230 with a .661 OPS. But now it's time for him to reap his personal rewards.
Frazier still has almost two weeks before the event in Denver, and he may have at least one teammate able to join him. But his first reward came in the form of a bottle of bourbon -- Old Fitzgerald 9-year to be exact -- gifted to him by his skipper and fellow bourbon aficionado.
"I had this specifically hoping that he would have it. Frazier's a huge bourbon guy also. We talk a lot about it. He's never had it. So I had this bottle put aside for this," Shelton said.
The gifting came during an oddly timed moment in the clubhouse before the game. Shelton called a meeting under the guise of new protocols. Frazier, the Pirates player's union rep, was confused by the late call considering he'd heard nothing new from the union. He'd just finished up a shower and a soak in the whirlpool, and was unfortunately scantily clad when Shelton and a camera crew approached for the announcement.
"Tried to disguise that meeting a little bit, and then I walk in and he's the only guy in a towel," Shelton said with a laugh. "So it was a little strange there, but his message to the club was just thank you to everybody in the room, team effort, the fact that they support him every day."
It was an enjoyable moment for a Pirates team that has not had much to smile about this season. Their loss Thursday dropped their record to 29-51. But such has been the case all season.
So, what makes an All-Star season?
Far too often, the fan voting is more of a popularity contest, which might explain the inclusion of the Dodgers' Gavin Lux in the final round of voting. Lux is a good player with an excellent future, but his numbers (.229 average with six homers and 32 RBIs) in 2021 pale in comparison to those of Frazier and Albies.
The fact that a Pirates player won a fan vote when stacked up against players in two of much larger markets is proof that baseball fans have been paying attention and that the Pirates' fan base is tremendously passionate.
"To know I have their support fully like I do is pretty unbelievable because I know our market is probably half the size of L.A., maybe. And then the same with Atlanta," Frazier said. "Those two teams are on TV every night. You know? National TV. So, to do what they did and the support they showed is pretty unbelievable, and it feels pretty special for me to be honored like that by them, and I can't thank them enough."
Parallels had already been drawn between Frazier's season and Albies' once the end of "Phase 1" voting concluded on June 22. At the time, it all came down to what they each were capable of doing with the bats, where Albies' production looked like that of a traditional power hitter compared to Frazier's contact-first approach.
While the cumulative effort is what's gotten Frazier into the game, there are moments that stood out from Frazier's first half that truly stand out in an incredible way.
The first actually comes with the glove, on a play Shelton described as "one of the best plays I have ever seen a second baseman make."
Most second basemen have absolutely no business making that play in that part of the field. And even though it has been a down season for him overall, defensively, Frazier still showed what's he's capable of with the glove.
The next memorable moment was actually an all-night affair during the second of his two four-hit efforts through the first 80 games of the season. Playing against Albies in his hometown of Atlanta, Frazier rattled off four knocks with an RBI and a run scored to lead the Pirates to a victory back when those were very tough to come by on May 20.
Sure, the offensive performance stands out in the record, but it'll be tough to forget Frazier running down a lengthy list of superstitions.
Skip to the 14:30 mark in this video to see the real show.
This team is already in tough shape for the 2021 season, and things aren't going to get any easier should they lose Frazier at or before the deadline. It's hard to argue that it's not in the best interests of the long-term success of the club for the Pirates to pull the trigger on a Frazier deal this season. He's never had a season like this and, with an extra year of control on the back end, his value on the market might never be higher.
But whether he leaves or stays, Frazier hung around with the team that drafted him long enough to fulfill his father's prediction that he just might be an All-Star some day.
"That's my dad. He's going to set the bar high for myself just so I'm thinking that way too," Frazier said. "If I just come up here in the major leagues and think about surviving, then you're setting a ceiling on yourself that's way too low. Believe in yourself and go out there and play hard everyday and have confidence, and you keep that and you'll have a lot better chance at succeeding. As a little kid, you're dreaming of being an All-Star, so that's really a dream come true situation. And, if I believe it as a little kid, then I'm not going to forget about it, and that's something I've always strived for."