Freddie Freeman: The all-around ‘good dude’ who is now a World Series MVP
By Sam Joseph, CNN
(CNN) — Freddie Freeman has essentially done it all in Major League Baseball.
He is an eight-time All-Star. Five-time All-MLB Team member. A former National League (NL) MVP. The owner of several regular season awards.
Now, the 35-year-old can call himself a World Series MVP.
Freeman and the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed the 2024 World Series title on Wednesday, defeating the New York Yankees 7-6 in Game 5 to win the series four games to one.
It is the eighth championship in Dodgers franchise history and the second of Freeman’s career, adding to the title he won with the Atlanta Braves three years ago.
The 15-year MLB veteran entered the Fall Classic nursing a sprained ankle but allayed Dodgers fans’ almost immediately with a history-making performance in Game 1 and went on to be the team’s standout player throughout the series.
To Freeman, winning is all that matters.
“This is everything,” Freeman said after being named MVP. “I wouldn’t be here without the support of everybody in these shirts tonight. It’s been a grind these last three months … it’s been a lot. This is it right here.”
Freeman was alluding to the health struggles of his three-year-old son Max, who was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome – a rare neurological disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks nerve cells – earlier this year.
In July, Max went into full paralysis and Freeman left the Dodgers to be with his family at the hospital. Eventually, doctors said that his son would make a recovery and Freeman rejoined the team in August.
“These have been the hardest and scariest days of our lives,” Freeman’s wife, Chelsea, wrote on Instagram. “Maximus is such a special boy and he has been fighting SO hard. This is going to be a journey to recover, but we have faith that he will be completely healed.”
“I’ll never compare Maximus to baseball,” said Freeman after Game 5, according to the Associated Press. “I won’t. It’s just two separate things, but with him doing really well now, it does mean a little bit extra.”
Doing all there is to do
Freeman was born in Fountain Valley, California, in 1989 to Canadian-born parents. He grew up playing baseball and showed signs of his powerful bat at a young age. He hit the ball so hard when playing tee-ball at 6 years old that his swing was adjudged to be too powerful and he practiced with children twice his age.
He played college baseball at California State University, Fullerton and was drafted 78th overall in the second round of the 2007 MLB draft by the Braves. He was called up from the minors in 2010, beginning what would be a stellar 12-year career with Atlanta.
Freeman became the Braves’ starting first baseman in 2011 and established himself as one of the best players in the league at the position. While with Atlanta, he was selected for the All-Star Game in 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019 and 2021. He starred on both sides of the ball, claiming the Gold Glove Award in 2018 before winning the Silver Slugger Award in each of the following three seasons.
He was named NL MVP in the Covid-19 shortened 2020 season, before essentially completing his resumé with a World Series title with the Braves in 2021.
Freeman, entering free agency after that World Series title, wanted to stay with Atlanta.
However, negotiations between the Braves and his agent did not end up in a deal, and Atlanta decided to move on and acquired first baseman Matt Olson. Freeman, who said being part of the Braves’ organization “was truly an honor,” bid farewell and went on to sign with the Dodgers on a six-year, $162 million deal ahead of the 2022 season.
His love for his former organization was on full display when the Dodgers visited Atlanta in June 2022, Freeman’s first return to Truist Park since swapping a Braves uniform for Dodger blue.
Freeman broke down in tears in his first press conference back. Braves fans showered Freeman with a long and stirring ovation when he received his 2021 championship ring – and Freeman cried again. He received another thunderous ovation ahead of his first plate appearance.
With the Dodgers, Freeman immediately picked up where he left off and has been an All-Star in each of his three seasons in LA. Most importantly for the Dodgers, he has maintained his reputation as one of the most clutch players in baseball.
Freeman did not have any home runs in the National League Division Series (NLDS) against the San Diego Padres nor in the NLCS against the New York Mets. He entered the World Series nursing an injured ankle that cast doubt over his participation – let alone his effectiveness – in Game 1, trying to run as little as possible as the Dodgers prepared for the series.
However, Freeman gritted his teeth and fought through the pain, hitting a triple and then later delivered an improbable walk-off grand slam to win the opener for LA – making him the first person ever to hit a walk-off grand slam in a World Series. He continued to show up when the team needed him the most, hitting home runs in Games 2, 3 and 4 to break a record – dating back to his time with the Braves – by homering in six consecutive Fall Classic games.
“He’s tougher than I am, that’s for sure,” said Frederick Freeman, Freddie’s father, after Game 5, per ESPN. “I don’t know any other person who could have done that.”
Game 5 saw an end to the home run streak, but the first baseman continued to deliver, recording a two-out, two-RBI single as part of a remarkable fifth inning when the Dodgers came back from 5-0 down to tie the game.
“To come through in those situations, that’s what you dream about as a kid, doing that in the World Series,” the 35-year-old said afterwards, per ESPN. “It’s hard to talk about right now, but maybe in a few days when I’ve let it settle in, I’ll have better answers for you. Right now, I’m just ecstatic.”
A superstar player with the personality to match
Freeman is popular among fans for his elite hitting and amicable personality, and is just as well-regarded among his peers.
“I don’t know what I’d do without him, quite honestly,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker in 2021. “He’s my rock. I go to him with things. I’ve been with him since the first day he came here in the big leagues. He’s everything that the Braves stand for.”
It is an opinion shared by his current manager, Dave Roberts. “All encompassing, he’s my favorite player to be around, as far as what he does for the culture, the organization, the team,” he said, according to ESPN.
This year, MLB players voted Freeman as the friendliest infielder to chat with on the bases, with one NL reliever simply describing him as “good dude.”
“He’s part-Canadian, isn’t he?” added an AL infielder, pointing to Freeman’s heritage.
Freeman is quick to give the praise back to his peers. Having tied the all-time record for RBIs in a single World Series with 12, the first baseman’s response to questions on the feat was simple.
“12 RBIs means there were a lot of my teammates on base,” he said per Reuters.
Though he was born in the US, the 35-year-old opted to represent Canada internationally and has competed at two World Baseball Classics for the national team. He explained in 2023 that this was a choice he made for his mother.
“My mom passed away when I was 10 years old of melanoma skin cancer, and that’s why I play for Team Canada,” he said. “I don’t know if this is what she would want me to do, but in my heart, it’s what I feel I should do.
“I know a lot of people don’t understand. I was born in California, I know I was. Yes, I was. But in my heart, honoring my mother and playing for Team Canada, for me is the right decision.”
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