Toms River Little Leaguer makes big league debut

After 5 years in the Cincinnati Reds farm system, 1998 Toms River East Little League world champion team member Todd Frazier finally got the call to the major leagues.    Frazier was the winning pitcher in the 1998 Little League world championship game that put the Toms River East Little League in the international spotlight.  

After his little league career, Frazier went on to excel in baseball at Toms River High School South and then played ball for Rutgers University. 

He was initially drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 37th round of the 2004 amateur draft, but finished college, batting .377 in his senior year.   After college, Frazier was then selected as a first round draft pick by the Cincinnati Reds.

Over the next 4 seasons, Frazier’s consistency moved him up the ranks of the Reds farm system, bouncing around until making it to the AAA Louisville Bats in 2009.    On Monday morning, Frazier got the call to the Reds and was in the dugout for the Red’s road game against the Philadelphia Phillies.  Frazier was not in the starting lineup, but in the top of the 7th inning, got the call to pinch hit for pitcher Mark Maloney.   Frazier struck out in his first major league at bat, at the age of 28, but the long journey from the little baseball fields on Windsor avenue was finally over.  Frazier made the big leagues.

Todd’s older brother Jeff also plays baseball.  Last year, Jeff played a two week stint with the Detroit Tigers after a 7 year minor league career.

Posted by Ocean County News on May 24 2011. Filed under Headline News, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry