NEW YORK — Let’s remember, Freddie Freeman never thought he would end up in Los Angeles. Had a thing or two gone differently three winters ago, the city might not have its latest World Series icon. The Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman has been embraced nonetheless, with Dodger Stadium chanting his name much like fans in Atlanta did during his 12 years prior. It was not long ago that Freeman himself was the splashy free-agent signing, a blend of the Dodgers’ opportunism and desire to keep the perpetual window open for what they hope is a golden era.
Now, he can mean something much more.
The Dodgers, after defeating the New York Yankees 4-2 in Game 3, are one win from winning the World Series. Freeman is one win from his legacy and legend in Los Angeles being set in stone.
“You said it, legacy,” Max Muncy said. “For a guy like Freddie, who doesn’t really need anything more to cement his legacy, this has been a pretty special run for him.”
Freeman has already painted the defining image of his tenure. In Game 1 of this World Series, Freeman took a Dodgers team that was down to its final out and lifted it to victory. Like Kirk Gibson 36 years before him, the hobbled superstar who has dealt with a painful sprained right ankle for the last month had homered into the right-field pavilion to walk it off and turn the tide of the franchise’s October.
“I expect Freddie to never pay for a meal ever again in LA,” Kiké Hernández said. “Not just because of what he’s done the last three (games), but because of what he’s done for the last month to be able to put himself in a position where he can just show up and wear cleats. … I really don’t think you guys have any idea what he’s put himself through to be able to play for us.”
Unlike Gibson, Freeman authored an encore: He homered again as the Dodgers blitzed Yankees starter Carlos Rodón in Game 2. And another: Freeman pushed the Dodgers on top 2-0 before Yankee Stadium could emerge into a full roar in Game 3, with his first-inning two-run home run giving his team an advantage it would not surrender.
Freeman received the intel he desired in his first at-bat. He had never faced Yankees right-hander Clarke Schmidt, a talented starter with premium stuff even if the Dodgers patiently waited him out to throw into the strike zone. But Schmidt showed Freeman everything he had within three pitches. He threw the former MVP a sweeper at the bottom of the zone for a strike. He tempted him with a cutter above the strike zone. Off of it, he threw Freeman a curveball and bent back into the zone for a second strike.
“I got to see everything he had,” Freeman said.
When Schmidt threw another cutter, high but not high enough and inside but not inside enough, Freeman turned on it. The line drive did not land until the ball was ricocheting amongst the seats in the short right-field porch. It was Freeman’s third home run in as many games to start the World Series, a feat only Barry Bonds (in 2002) and Hank Bauer (in 1958) had accomplished. Dating back to his days as an Atlanta Brave in 2021, Freeman has now homered in each of his past five World Series games, a major-league record.
“Even on one leg, he’s Freddie Freeman and carrying us right now,” Mookie Betts said.
“It’s starting to become some superhero s—,” Hernández said.
In a season defined by the Dodgers’ superstars, as the team committed more than a billion dollars in one winter to lock in their franchise for the next decade, it was Freeman who first took a back seat. Shohei Ohtani’s presence in Los Angeles dominated the landscape. It was Mookie Betts who commanded much of the remaining oxygen, from his move to shortstop shortly before Opening Day to his broken hand that loomed over much of the Dodgers’ summer.
Freeman endured a frustrating start, complaining of a swing that never felt right. He was forced to adapt: fastidious about his routines and steadfast about avoiding the training room, Freeman listened to the Dodgers’ advice. When his youngest son, Maximus, was temporarily paralyzed and hospitalized with a rare neurological condition, Guillain-Barré syndrome, Freeman left the Dodgers altogether for 10 days. Maximus’ health has since improved, but the challenges in what has been a trying year have persisted. The Dodgers cut one of his best friends in the game, Jason Heyward, before the season’s final month. By then, Freeman was already playing through a fractured right middle finger. Freeman’s production remained, even if it didn’t take top billing.
“He probably had the worst year of his career, and he probably still hit like (.282) with like (22) homers or something and like a (.854) OPS and that was the worst year of his career,” Hernández said. “That says a lot about the player.”
Then came the night the Dodgers clinched the division, when Freeman badly rolled his ankle attempting to avoid a tag near first base. Doctors told Freeman the injury usually required a recovery time of four to six weeks. Freeman started at first base for the Dodgers eight days later.
His mere presence in the lineup served to galvanize. His production remained clearly limited. Freeman did not record an extra-base hit during either of the Dodgers’ first two playoff series this October. Twice, the pain in his ankle became too much to bear and he sat — the Dodgers won both games, including the one that secured them the pennant.
That would have been enough. Freeman, heavily-taped ankle and all, helping the Dodgers get back to the World Series after premature exits each of his first two Octobers in Los Angeles. He’d helped the Dodgers get back to this highest stage.
The days since provided time for his ankle time to heal, and the legend to grow. Freeman and hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc found a mental cue which opened up his swing and allowed him to generate power through the pain in his ankle. It clearly worked.
Freeman’s ankle still hurts, even more so after he fouled a ball off of it in the seventh inning on Monday night. But his swing probably hasn’t felt this good all season.
He’s also added to his lore. The “Fre-ddie” chants got louder at Dodger Stadium in Game 2. Before his first at-bat Monday, the Bronx faithful chanted his name as well, only with an expletive in front of it. With one more win, Freeman is among the names that will stick into the side of Yankees fans for years to come.
It’ll immortalize him in Los Angeles, just as it did for Gibson, Orel Hershiser and others of his ilk.
“I really just want to hoist that trophy,” Freeman said. “I don’t care how that happens. I don’t care if I go 0 for the next 70 strikeouts, as long as we win, that’s all I care about.”
(Top photo of Freddie Freeman: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
