by Cary Osborne
One of Freddie Freeman’s best qualities is he is human.
He admitted something about his 2024 season on the eve of the postseason that made that clear.
“I think everyone in here knows, it’s been a lot,” he said.
Personally and professionally it was a lot.
It was Aug. 6 when he stepped to the batter’s box returning from an eight-game absence to care for his son Maximus, who was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome. Dodger fans gave him a standing ovation, and Freeman’s eyes turned glossy as he choked back tears.
Eleven days later, he jammed his finger and left a game in St. Louis early. Scans revealed a hairline fracture.
And throughout September, the .300 career hitter — .300 on the dot — had a batting average on the scoreboard that fell to .280. Most hitters will not tell you they strive for a number. Freeman openly says .300 is important to him because it’s the measure of a good hitter.
So by the time he turned his ankle — badly — on Sept. 26 during the game where the Dodgers clinched the National League West title, he was already riding the rapids of adversity.
When the World Series arrived, Freeman was slumping. The early morning arrivals and hours of treatment to make the lineup were keeping the ankle from getting worse. But the theory grew that it was affecting his at-bats.
He was 1-for-15 over his last three NLCS games. He didn’t play in Games 4 and 6.
Six days between games and he was back in the lineup for Game 1 of the World Series.
And by Game 3 of the World Series, it was clear that people were beginning to think Freddie Freeman was superhuman.
By the tone of a question from a New York reporter to manager Dave Roberts after Game 3 of the World Series, there was a clear incredulity about what Freeman had been able to do with a sprained ankle in the postseason.
Teammate Kiké Hernández has been talking about and mentioning on his Instagram account that Freeman should be signed up for the superhero group “The Avengers.”
Is it superhuman?
Consider some of the baserunning plays from Freeman in the World Series. The Dodger first baseman fouled a ball off the right ankle in the seventh inning of Game 3, then he reached base legging out a fielder’s choice groundout in the same at-bat. And then he went first to third on a Teoscar Hernández single.
In Game 4, he grounded into a potential inning-ending double play in the fifth inning. Instead, he beat the throw to first base, which allowed the Dodgers to score and cut the Yankees’ lead to 5–4 at the time.
The answer now is that it is superhuman.
Freeman is the 2024 World Series MVP.
Freeman’s home run in Game 1 was the game-ender. His home run in Game 2 was the backbreaker. His homers in Games 3 and 4 were the tone setters.
Freeman’s 10th inning walk-off home run delivered the Dodgers a 6–3 victory in Game 1. It is the only walk-off grand slam in postseason history.
https://medium.com/media/767b565a57ba3e1fe646088ff6c1ce96/href
He went back-to-back with Teoscar Hernández in Game 2 — his solo homer giving the Dodgers a 4–1 lead in an eventual 4–2 win.
Then he hit first-inning two-run homers in the first innings of Games 3 and 4.
Freeman’s homers in four consecutive World Series games tied Houston’s George Springer’s 2017 record for a single World Series. Freeman homered in six straight World Series games going back to 2021 with Atlanta — a Major League record.
In Game 5, with the Dodgers trailing 5–1 in the top of the fifth, he delivered a two-out, two-run double giving him 12 RBI this postseason.
https://medium.com/media/9e00ba383c7b1ef718860dbfe38890ac/href
The 12 RBI tied Yankee Bobby Richardson (1960) for most RBI in a single World Series.
“I did a lot of work in between the NLCS and the World Series,” Freeman said. “Thankfully, my ankle got into a good spot where I could work on my swing, and I found a cue that really worked for me. I was able to slow things down. All you’re trying to do is swing at strikes, take balls, and hit the mistakes. Thankfully, I was able to do that for five games.”
Roberts reflected before Game 4 of the World Series on what Freeman has meant to the Dodgers since the former NL MVP signed with them in Spring Training 2022.
“If I had one player, I’ve said it before — all encompassing, he’s my favorite player to be around as far as what he does for the culture, the organization, the team,” Roberts said.
In 2024, he helped lead them to a World Series championship.
World Series: Heartbeat of the Dodgers championship run, Freddie Freeman is the MVP was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.