Jett Frazier took some time off from baseball at the start of the Fort Smith Marshals’ season in order to earn some much-needed money. He still kept tabs on the team and was waiting for the right time to rejoin the team after playing for them during the Marshals’ debut campaign last summer.
“I even came out to watch a handful of Marshals games during my time off because I was bored at the house, and I was like, go see the guys,” said Frazier, who played his high school ball at Northside High School in Fort Smith.
Finally, on the weekend of July 12-13, he was back in a Marshals’ uniform and definitely showed no signs of rust. He got on base all four times in a 9-3 win against Sherman on July 12. On the following night he went 2-for-3, including hitting the eventual game-winning single in the bottom of the sixth as Fort Smith rallied from a deficit to post a thrilling 7-6 win.
Frazier perhaps couldn’t have picked a more opportune time to make his Marshals’ return. His performance in the two weekend games against Sherman gave Fort Smith a series win, and the Marshals are aiming to get into the postseason, finishing the regular season with a slew of home contests at Crowder Field.
“Hopefully, we bring in a big crowd like we did last year, and get this place popping again,” Frazier said.
One of the things Frazier liked about playing on the first Marshals’ squad was the relationships he developed with several teammates and coaches.
“It was so much fun; I made so many great friends and relationships with other coaches,” he said. “I’ll still talk to a bunch of the guys. … This was a blast last summer, and I plan to be back next summer, if they let me, of course.”
Frazier was equally enthused about helping do his part for the Marshals in their series win against Sherman, especially his single that snapped a 6-all score in the sixth. He was able to lift a ball into shallow right center over the head of the Shadowcats’ second baseman.
His first game back with the Marshals produced an unusual stat line. Frazier made four plate appearances, but was not credited with an at-bat because he drew a walk and then got hit the other three times.
“(Just) get on base,” he said.
Frazier, who started his college career at Carl Albert State College in Poteau, is transferring this fall to play at Texas A&M University-Texarkana, where he will have two seasons of eligibility.
“Chase Brewster is going to be my head coach,” Frazier said. “He’s a known guy in Arkansas for the Arkansas Sticks (a prominent travel baseball squad), great guy, and I’m excited to go down there and play ball for him.”
Frazier’s father, Chad, is a coach at Northside. But the younger Frazier, as much as he loves baseball, doesn’t see himself being a coach. Instead, Jett wants to go a different path once his college days are over, becoming a firefighter. That’s still a ways off, though. For now, Frazier is just happy to be back in his element – on a baseball diamond.
“Baseball is a fun game; I would recommend it to any kid that’s younger, just to play the game for as long as you can and play it for fun,” he said. “Don’t let it get too high. Don’t let it get too low.”
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