Former MLB All-Star Todd Frazier looks back at Little League championship run, talks 'squishing the bug' with OFF

Todd Frazier had a memorable MLB career, but he became a baseball star years before entering the big leagues when he helped the Toms River East American Little League All-Star team win the 1998 Little League World Series. On3 recently caught up with Frazier, and he talked about the best post-championship celebration events.

“There was a bunch. We had a parade. We went on The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” Todd Frazier told On3. “We went to a bunch of different places. But I think going to Yankee Stadium and standing next to Derek Jeter and everybody stood in their collective positions was probably the coolest thing. I got to meet my idol, Paul O’Neill.”

During the 1998 Little League World Series, Frazier went 9-for-15 with four home runs (including a grand slam), drove in 10 RBI, and scored 11 runs in five games. In the championship game, he went 4-for-4 with a lead-off home run and was the winning pitcher. His production led to Little League International inducting Frazier into the Little League Hall of Excellence.

Todd Frazier discusses partnership with OFF

The 2025 Little League World Series is right around the corner, and Frazier has teamed up with its official sponsor, OFF!, to promote the “Squish the Bug” campaign, an initiative centered around teaching batting fundamentals to Little League players. Frazier is in a campaign video with his son, Blake, that demonstrates how to “Squish the Bug” on and off the field.

“It’s a great campaign for adults and kids that have problems with mosquitoes, and I know I’ve had it my whole career, pretty much,” Frazier said. “Especially in the playing days of playing Little League Baseball and my focus was trying to hit home runs and trying to get on base and winning games. And the last thing I wanted to worry about were mosquitoes. And now, with this fragrance-free, non-greasy bottle that they have, it’s an essential necessity for myself and my son.

“And it goes about squishing the bug, and I think that’s the biggest thing for us. The name Squish the Bug comes from a baseball adage and a baseball saying of turning your backside and using the tops of your feet to turn the hips and to get in a better position to hit the ball, and relatively and easily squishing a bug. You spray this on your body, and next thing you know, the mosquitoes are gone. So it works out in both ways, and it’s just so perfect for me because it’s what I grew up on. And especially being in New Jersey and June being one of the top and peak months of mosquitoes, you need that OFF! bug spray to get rid of those. And it was just an easy, simple yes here because it’s so relatable to what I do.”