Freddie Freeman belted two home runs in the Atlanta Braves’ three-game series against the Brewers over the weekend, including a game-winning blast in the ninth inning Friday night. That did nothing to change his opinion about his least favorite stadium in Major League Baseball.
Freeman has hit just .220 in 17 career games in Milwaukee, but he has performed much better at Miller Park as of late. In his past seven games there, Freeman went 9-for-23 with two doubles, five homers, seven RBIs and an OPS of 1.647. Even if he has figured something out, the veteran infielder still hates the Miller Park lighting.
“No. I think it’s a bad-lit Little League field,” Freeman said on Saturday, via David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I can’t see anything here.”
Freeman obviously saw the ball well enough to belt two of the nine homers he has hit this year, but he says he also has issues in the field when playing at Milwaukee.
“I mean, I’ve had maybe one or two good series here out of six,” Freeman said. “But I can hardly see the ball. I think it was a ball in the first (inning), double play, and I almost missed it because I couldn’t see the ball until it got on me. It’s just dark. … And they shot off those fireworks (before the Brewers’ first inning) and the fog just got trapped in there, it was hard to see. I even asked all their guys, I said I don’t know how you guys play in here. I would not be good here.
“I’m just glad it’s three games and out. I don’t see the ball well, at all. I don’t understand that (lighting problem). Arizona’s (lighting in retractable dome) is great. I feel like Little League fields are lit better than this. Obviously they have no problem (Freeman laughed) because their guys are hitting. I guess you get used to it. Our lights at SunTrust (Park) are awesome. Turner Field was a little dark.”
Freeman is off to a blazing start in 2017, hitting .381 with nine homers, 14 RBI and a .485 on-base percentage. If he feels that strongly about playing at Miller Park, it’s probably safe to assume he is just so locked in that even some bad lighting can’t throw him off.
