Kirk Gibson shares his first comments on Freddie Freeman’s grand slam

Dec 4, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson answers questions from the media during the Major League Baseball winter meetings at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

Freddie Freeman on Friday etched himself into Los Angeles Dodgers history with a grand slam for the ages. Kirk Gibson knows the feeling.

Freeman smashed a walk-off grand slam into the seats at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., to win Game 1 of the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees. Gibson did the same thing about 36 years earlier.

Gibson spoke candidly to MLB.com’s Jason Beck about what he had felt as he watched Freeman triumphantly round the bases on Friday.

“I was standing there, listening,” Gibson said. “And then just immediately knew what he was going through with his emotions. I was reliving the emotions as well, two people from different eras. It was cool. I love passing the torch and letting him have it and experience it.”

Gibson’s pinch-hit solo shot was famously his only at-bat of the 1988 World Series as he was hobbled by knee and hamstring injuries.

Like Gibson, Freeman was hobbled by an injury when he connected on his historic hit. But unlike Gibson, Freeman was healthy enough to play in Game 2 and even hit his second home run in as many games.

Gibson also shared that he had sensed something big was going to happen due to an incident the night before Game 1. While hanging out with friends at a lodge in Michigan, their peaceful Thursday evening was interrupted by the loud howling of a wild pack of coyotes. He had initially pegged it as “just me being weird.”

Dodgers fans are surely hoping that things stay “weird” throughout the rest of the Fall Classic.