Joseph Filmore Frazier (October 6, 1922 – February 15, 2011) was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He was signed as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

, but did not play in the major leagues until

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

. After 1947, he was traded on November 20, 1947 with $25,000,

Dick Kokos Richard Jerome Kokos, born Kokoszka (February 28, 1928 – April 9, 1986), was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles from to , and again from to . In a ...

, and

Bryan Stephens Bryan Maris Stephens (July 14, 1920 – November 21, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. The native of Fayetteville, Arkansas, a right-handed pitcher, appeared in 74 Major League games — 31 for the Cleveland Indians and 43 f ...

for

Walt Judnich Walter Franklin Judnich (January 24, 1916 – July 10, 1971) was an Americans, American professional baseball player. A center fielder, Judnich played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven seasons with the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians ...

and

Bob Muncrief Robert Cleveland Muncrief (January 28, 1916 – February 6, 1996) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 288 games in Major League Baseball over 12 seasons between and with the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, Pittsbu ...

. He spent parts of three seasons in the majors in the 1950s, primarily with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. In

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

, at the age of 33, he finished his playing career after having played in 217 games. He then had a successful career as a minor league manager, first in the Houston Astros organization, and then, beginning in 1968, in the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

farm system. He managed in Mankato of the Northern League, then Pompano Beach in the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. He would win the pennant in 1971 with Visalia of the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

. He then went on to win league championships with Memphis and Victoria in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. Frazier, managing the

Tidewater Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

in 1975, won the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

championship. The Tides had to win 22 of their last 33 games to finish the regular season in a first-place tie with the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

. The Tides then won a one-game playoff behind the four-hit pitching of

Nino Espinosa Arnulfo Acevedo Espinosa (August 15, 1953 – December 24, 1987) was a Dominican professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and Toronto Blue Jays. He threw and batted ri ...

. The Tides advanced to win the Governors' Cup by defeating Charleston three games to none, and then Syracuse, three games to one. They then went on to the

Junior World Series The Junior World Series was a postseason championship series between champions of two of the three highest minor league baseball leagues modeled on the World Series of Major League Baseball. It was called the Little World Series (no relation to ...

, losing to Evansville of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

four games to one. Following that successful 1975 season, Frazier was promoted to manager of the parent Mets on October 3, replacing interim manager

Roy McMillan Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise t ...

. At his introductory press conference, Mets General Manager Joe McDonald said, "Joe Frazier has consistently proved to us his ability to handle players. Winning is what it's all about, and Joe Frazier is a winner." Frazier himself added, "I'm the type of manager who stresses fundamentals. I think a man should go from first to third on a hit and second to home. I demand hustle. If I have my way, you're going to see a Mets' club next year that will hustle."The Sporting News, October 18, 1975. "Mets Promote 'Sergent Joe' to Top Command Frazier managed the Mets to an 86–76 record in 1976, good for a third-place finish and an improvement over their 82–80 record from the previous season. But Frazier's Mets got off to a poor start in 1977, and following a 15–30 record, Frazier was replaced as Mets manager by

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

, who was an active player on the Mets roster at the time. In 1982 he was the manager of the

Louisville Redbirds Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, the AAA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team finished in second place with a record of 73–62. He was succeeded as manager of the Redbirds by

Jim Fregosi James Louis Fregosi (April 4, 1942 – February 14, 2014) was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , primarily for the Los Angeles / California Angels. He also played for the ...

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
o
Ultimate Mets Database
*
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frazier, Joe 1922 births 2011 deaths Baltimore Orioles players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players Baseball players from North Carolina Cedar Rapids Raiders players Cincinnati Redlegs players Cleveland Indians players Gavilanes de Maracaibo players Houston Astros scouts Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets players Major League Baseball right fielders Memphis Chickasaws players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Mets managers New York Mets scouts Norfolk Tides managers Oklahoma City Indians players Patriotas de Venezuela players St. Louis Cardinals players San Antonio Missions players Santa Marta (baseball club) players Spokane Indians players Vancouver Mounties players Wilkes-Barre Barons (baseball) players