MLB
“He’s one of my heroes in the sport,” Frelick said of Pedroia.
Sal Frelick, who starred at Lexington High School and Boston College, recently completed his second season with the Milwaukee Brewers.
In a conversation with Boston.com, Frelick discusses his upbringing, Dustin Pedroia’s influence, his growth as a player, and more.
Boston.com: How did your local roots shape you into the person you are today?
Sal Frelick: This is always going to be home for me. I’m in Boston right now. I’ll always be here as long as I’m not playing. I’ll be here in the offseason. But yeah, I grew up in Lexington, went to Lexington public school, which is a big thing for me staying in a public school system. A lot of my friends growing up all did the same thing. I always encourage kids to stay in public schools. Then I stayed close to home, went to Boston College, which obviously was really important to me as well. A Catholic school was something I was really looking for, and also just being close to home. Being able to have my parents come watch me play, or drop off a toothbrush if I needed it.
BDC: At what point did you realize playing in the majors was a realistic goal, rather than a pipe dream?
SF: I would say maybe my junior year of college, when I got drafted. I was playing three sports in high school, so I never really did any baseball showcases. I wasn’t doing fall ball or anything. BC was my only offer for baseball. I ended up going there and didn’t really have any big expectations stepping on campus. Coach [Mike] Gambino gave me a shot to play my freshman year, and I had a pretty good freshman year. Then sophomore year was COVID, so I didn’t play. I didn’t really know what was going on. Junior year, I had a pretty good year and got myself in a position to get drafted, so I would say that year.
BDC: What has Dustin Pedroia meant to you over the years, and how has he inspired you to this day?
SF: He’s one of my heroes in the sport. I’ve had his picture up in my room since I was a little kid. I got to work with him this offseason, which was great. I plan on playing a little bit of infield. [Manager Pat Murphy] called me. He coached him at Arizona State, which is where that connection comes in. I went out to Arizona last offseason to work infield with him. That was the first time I met him. I think from there, he’s just been a really influential person in my life, always checking in. I saw him again when we went to Arizona to play the Diamondbacks. That’s where he lives. He’s just always giving really good advice. It’s kind of cool looking back that one of my heroes growing up is somebody that I can talk to about my career right now.
BDC: To have a mentor like that, who’s about your height, how much does that help?
SF: I always tell people who aren’t from Boston that if you’re my age or anywhere like five years older, and you’re under 6 foot, Dustin Pedroia is probably your hero. There’s a pretty good chance. He kind of set the foundation for little guys playing in the league. For Jose Altuve, all those short guys you see now, he was really the first one. He’ll be the first to tell you this, too. He wasn’t skilled. It was just his work ethic, hustle, how he played the game, his preparation. That’s something you see when you watch him play. That’s what I looked up to, and that’s what I wanted to be as a baseball player. I really think that he set the foundation for guys like that.
BDC: How sweet is it to sign that first contract? How do you make sure you budget it wisely and don’t spend all the money right away?
SF: It’s a good question. Obviously it’s nice playing in the big leagues and nice getting a paycheck. But at the same time, I think a lot of people might be misconstrued at times that professional athletes are just set for life. Obviously that’s not the case. That’s what pairing with Northwestern Mutual is doing. Our intent with the “My Time to Plan” series that’s coming out is to be able to talk about money. I think it’s a really important thing. My parents, when I was in high school, always talked about it. Not until I got drafted, and was in the minors, do I think I really had a good understanding of what budgeting was and what expense is. The only reason I learned it was because I was living it. I think it’s really important to reach a younger population and get that conversation moving. That’s what this partnership with Northwestern Mutual is going to do.
BDC: How does playing in the majors compare to what you thought it would be like?
SF: It’s pretty much everything I expected and more. The atmosphere is definitely what gets me the most excited. I know it’s the big leagues, and you know how good the competition is, and how good the pitching is, and that is definitely up to par with what I thought it would be, how hard of a game is. What surpassed is definitely the sold-out stadiums, people asking for autographs and stuff like that. I just think that fan interaction is so cool and what gets us up for all these games. You might be on a 17-game straight road trip, whatever it might be, and the fans are pretty awesome. That’s definitely surpassed.
BDC: Pat Connaughton is another local underdog who played multiple sports growing up and has made it big with a Milwaukee pro team. Have you spoken with him much?
SF: I actually went to Catholic school in Arlington before I went to public school in Lexington, K through third grade, fourth grade maybe, I went to St. Agnes in Arlington, which is where Pat Connaughton is from. I remember going to Fidelity House and playing basketball there. I would always see him there. But I didn’t connect with him until he actually threw out a first pitch at a Wisconsin Timber Rattlers game, which is our High-A affiliate. I went up and introduced myself and said I was from Lexington, and we kind of made the connection there. We’ve stayed in touch ever since. This year, the Pat Connaughton Foundation is redoing basketball courts. They’re doing a brand-new one in Arlington, at Fidelity House, which I thought was the coolest thing ever, seeing him be able to give back. I talked to him a little bit about that.
BDC: I know you’re still in the early stages of your career, but do you have plans to give back in a similar manner at some point?
SF: Yeah, absolutely. Right now, a lot of the charitable stuff I’m doing is smaller, a lot of groups locally in Milwaukee and groups locally in Lexington, just finding little ways to give back. Just showing up and showing face for people who need it goes a long way. Learning how to navigate that path as well, which is part of the job of being a professional athlete.
BDC: How have you grown as a player and a person since you arrived in the majors?
SF: I got called up last year and had a half-season under my belt. This was my first full season, playing 162. I think the most I ever played in a season was 130, maybe. It was definitely a lot different. I think the biggest change for me is just maturity. Now I’m settled into a routine every single day that I know will prepare me for the game. Maybe early on I was scuffling a little bit with that, what I needed to do every day to get myself ready. Whether it’s what time you get to the field, or how many swings you take in batting practice, or how late I’m staying up for what I eat for breakfast, everything for that first year and a half there was so much learning. So many great older guys on the team to learn from. Now I feel like I have a good, formulated plan that I can continue to do going forward.
BDC: Can you describe the emotions of that final game, with the thrill of a home run then the tough ending? How did it motivate you and the team moving forward?
SF: Playoff baseball is a different animal. It really is a game of momentum swings. I think the whole series we were going back and forth. We would come out and punch them, and they would come and punch us back. It was just going back and forth. Obviously Game 1, and then we thought we responded really well in Game 2. In Game 3, they just kind of got the last punch in there. As upsetting as that is for us, that’s sports, that’s baseball. Everyone’s going out there trying to do their job to the best of their ability. Sometimes you’re going to end up on the losing side. At the same time, I think it’s a good experience going forward for a guy like me, Brice Turang, and the young guys. That’s two years in the big leagues and two playoffs we’ve been in, so I think the more games like that we get under our belt, I think the better we can do.
BDC: What do you want your legacy to be?
SF: Obviously you want to be the best player you can be, and I’m going to try to do that every single day. But I think, more importantly, we touched on some of the stuff here. If I could choose to have one or two things be my legacy, it would be being the best possible teammate ever. I hope if you ask any of my teammates, that would say something like that about me. Also just being the best possible community man as well. Whether that’s in Milwaukee, whether that’s back home in Boston, I want to make sure I’m doing my part. These places mean a lot to me, so there’s no reason for me not to show them why they’re so special. So I think those two things, more so than being the best player ever, mean a little more to me.
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