TOMS RIVER – The Toddfather, Part IV might be filming in Texas.
Toms River native Todd Frazier will be moving from the New York Mets to the Texas Rangers, according to several news outlets.
Websites such as ESPN.com announced the change, citing “sources.” As of this writing, the deal hasn’t been made public. However, Frazier has been retweeting comments from fans who are excited about the proposed move.
Frazier was part of the 1998 Little League World Series-winning team in Toms River. True to form, he went on to star wherever he played: Toms River High School South, Rutgers University, the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees.
He is coming off of a two-year, $17 million contract with the New York Mets.
According to ESPN, the Texas Rangers would take the third basement for a one-year, $5 million contract.
In addition to his baseball wins, fans have supported this hometown boy made good due to positive stories about his behavior off the diamond.
In 2014, he reportedly saved a choking man using the Heimlich maneuver in a Pittsburgh restaurant back when he was with the Cincinnati Reds.
In 2013, the Reds had an honorary batboy named Teddy Kramer, a 30-year-old man with Down syndrome. Before stepping out to the plate, Kramer told Frazier to hit a home run. Frazier obliged, bringing in another runner at the same time. After they came back to the dugout, the video camera caught Frazier lifting Kramer in a hug.
Locally, he’s been known to lend his voice and advocacy for good causes such as the Field of Dreams. This will be a special needs playground and more that will be in Bey Lea Park on North Bay Avenue in Toms River. The plans for this include a walking path with rehabilitative stations, a temperature-controlled pavilion, complimentary snack shack, courts for basketball, bocce and shuffle board, a state of the art all-inclusive playground, quiet corner, and baseball field.
Frazier is known for having Frank Sinatra play when he’s up to bat. It’s not clear what Sinatra song would play in Globe Life Field, home of the Rangers, but it probably would not be “New York, New York.”
