ALTOONA, Pa. -- After a whirlwind 24 hours, Adam Frazier was formally introduced as a member of the Padres on Monday afternoon.
It's a very different setting.
"My whole life, all I've done is win, until I got to the big leagues," Frazier said to a group of San Diego media members Monday. "So to be able to do that again, be in a playoff push, I couldn't be more excited about it. That's what we live for."
The former Pirate will get that chance with the Padres as they sit in third place in the NL West 5.5 games back and second in the NL Wild Card 5.5 games ahead of third place Cincinnati.
Frazier was pulled off the field Sunday to be notified of the trade, but once he learned of the destination, the excitement showed.
"(Pirates' manager Derek) Shelton just pulled me down. And Don (Kelly) said, you know, it's been a pleasure coaching you and all that stuff," Frazier recalled "We did our hugs and everything. And I was like, well, where am I going? He said San Diego. Now I was pretty excited when he when he said San Diego to join the team like San Diego has is pretty unbelievable. And looking forward to getting after it."
For the past three seasons, Frazier had been the talks of multiple trades and deals that fell through so being traded was always on his radar and didn't come as a surprise when it finally happened.
"It felt like every year, it's getting hotter and hotter. And I thought I was going somewhere last year didn't happen. So now, I learned through that time just to not worry about it, I can't control it," Frazier said. "I mean, I heard it from teammates every day, you're still here, that kind of thing. So just take it in stride and have fun play the game. With All Star stuff, and now this, it's been a whirlwind, month just traveling back and forth from the West Coast, but other than just trying to play ball and worry about what I can control."
The season Frazier is having, leading the league in hits and tied for fourth in batting average has been thanks in large part to an approach at the plate that resembles one of San Diego's greatest players in the late Tony Gwynn.
"If I'd have grown up on the West Coast, he probably would've been my idol," Frazier said of Gwynn. "That kind of approach - hit the ball to all fields, make hard contact and don't strike out - that's exactly what I'm trying to do."
With the infield in San Diego being built the way it is with Manny Machado at third, Fernando Tatis, Jr. at shortstop and 2021 All Star Jake Cronenworth at second base, the plan is for Frazier to go back to his utility man roots and play multiple spots, something he's more than willing and capable of doing.
"I'm assuming I'm gonna bounce around, because I guess I can do that. Being on a team like this, wherever I can help the team win is where I'm going to be," Frazier said. "I'm ready to do that. When the trade happened, I was assuming I'm going to bounce around everywhere. So I'll be ready."
