NEW YORK -- This is the opportunity that Clint Frazier has not-so-patiently waited for, and the Yankees outfielder said that he can’t wait to show what he can do over a full season in the big leagues.

Frazier enters 2021 as the Yankees’ starting left fielder, batting ninth in Thursday’s Opening Day lineup against the Blue Jays. The 26-year-old Frazier freely acknowledges that his first several years in pinstripes did not go as he would have scripted, and he is thrilled that the journey led to this juncture.

“With all of the ups and downs, I had a lot of bitterness at times,” Frazier said. “I was like, ‘Am I going to play here? Am I going to play somewhere else?’ In my heart and in my head, I wanted it to be here. I wanted to beat the odds; I wanted to overcome this. I finally got what I wanted. I don’t have to look over my shoulder every second wondering if I’m going to play.”

Frazier joins center fielder Aaron Hicks and right fielder Aaron Judge in the Opening Day outfield alignment, with Brett Gardner and Mike Tauchman available off the bench.

With exactly 162 career games under his belt entering play on Thursday, Frazier earned his place with a solid spring coming off a 2020 campaign in which he batted .267/.394/.511 (150 OPS+) with eight homers and 26 RBIs in 39 games, despite being optioned to the alternate training site during the first series of the regular season.

“The biggest thing that helped me was that I did start in the playoffs,” Frazier said. “That was a different kind of feeling with the nerves and atmosphere. There were no fans there, but the intensity was a big moment. I expect [Opening Day] to feel the same way. I feel prepared along with the rest of the guys that are going out there with me.”

Frazier said that he has no issue with his place in the lineup, recognizing the power potential of his Bombers teammates.

“I would say there’s not too many other teams I’d be thrilled to hit ninth on,” Frazier said. “It’s a lineup that is so deep that I am completely fine hitting wherever I am. I said to someone the other day, ‘I don’t know how we acquired every player that hits every homer 500 feet.’ It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch.”

Meet market
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that the team held a meeting during Wednesday’s workout day. It marked a rare opportunity for the entire club to convene, given the COVID-19 environment that kept players separated this spring.

“I feel like we had a really good and focused Spring Training,” Boone said. “We know what we’re out to try and accomplish, which we get to start in earnest [Thursday]. This is a hungry group with the right frame of mind. Now we get to find out how good we are.”

DJ LeMahieu said that several members of the 26-man roster addressed the team during the meeting, and a motivational video was played.

“It was the first time I think we were all together; pitchers, position players, everybody together in one room,” LeMahieu said. “Everyone was just talking about how excited they are. For everyone to get on the same page, it was great.”

Done deal
Though it landed him on the Yankees’ injured list to begin the season, Luke Voit is pleased that he decided to have surgery on his ailing left knee, believing that the procedure could allow the Majors’ reigning home run leader to enjoy another productive year.

Voit had the procedure performed by Dr. David Altchek on Monday in New York, repairing a torn medial meniscus. Voit is expected to return sometime in May. He said that he had three opinions from doctors, and though it was suggested that he could have the knee drained and play through the injury, he chose not to after playing through plantar fasciitis for most of last year.

“I was just done playing hurt; I want to be 100 percent,” Voit said. “I’d have a good day, and the next day I’d get out of bed and it would be killing me. I run five or six sprints before games, and by that fourth or fifth sprint, it would start to feel good … but I was losing a lot of my power when I was hitting. I think I just made the right decision.”

Veteran Jay Bruce will fill in as the Yankees’ regular first baseman while Voit recovers.

“I think we’re going to see a very good player, a guy that we feel has a lot left,” Boone said of Bruce.

He said it
“By the end of the day, I had a headache and my jaw was hurting from smiling. It’s everything I’ve been hoping for the last five or six years.” -- Lucas Luetge, who made the Opening Day roster and last appeared in the Majors in 2015