Saturday, October 26, 2024
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2024
Freddie Freeman blasted a walk-off grand slam in Game 1 in the World Series, the first time in World Series history. Freeman has had a great major league career. Now, he will be immortalized in Dodger history.
Freddie Freeman, 35, debuted in September 2010 and became the regular first baseman for the Atlanta Braves in 2011. Quickly, he became a National League star. No one thought Freeman would leave the Braves after winning the 2020 National League MVP and being an integral part of the 2021 Braves’ 2021 world championship.
After the 2021 World Series, baseball had a labor dispute, complicating free agency. Even before the labor dispute, the negotiations between the Braves and Freeman’s team were difficult.
After the labor dispute was resolved and the Braves signed Matt Olson, Freeman signed a six-year $162 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Since becoming a Dodger, Freeman has been great. In 2022, he barely lost the National League batting title. In 2023, he competed with Mookie Betts and Ronald Acuña, Jr., for the National League MVP.
The 2024 season was difficult for Freeman. He had a .282 batting average, 22 home runs, and 89 RBI. This performance is good for any major leaguer, but it was under Freeman’s lofty standards. He never felt right during the 2024 season. He had a broken finger causing him to miss three days. In the game that the Dodgers clinched the National League Western Division against the San Diego Padres, Freeman severely sprained his ankle, making him miss the last three regular season games.
In August, Freeman, who rarely misses a game, missed eight games since his three-year-old son, Maximus, was in the hospital with Guillan-Barré Syndrome. Sometime during his hospitalization, Maximus was on the vent to breathe. Thank God, Maximus is doing well in his recovery.
Freeman’s sprained ankle limited him in both the NLDS against the Padres and the NLCS against the New York Mets. He missed games and had no extra-base hits. Freeman was a shadow of himself. However, the six days off benefited Freeman’s ankle. In the first game of the World Series, Freeman had a triple, which scared everyone who followed the Dodgers.
The New York Yankees’ manager, Aaron Boone, made a mistake when he called upon a starting pitcher who hadn’t pitched competitively since September 18th. He gave Freeman a lousy mid-velocity fastball in the inside corner of the strike zone.
The Dodgers should win the World Series. They have better offense, bullpen, and defensive fundamentals than the Yankees.
