Freddie Freeman might need to start considering retirement after what happened on Wednesday.
Freeman faced Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo in the seventh inning of Atlanta’s 10-0 win over the Cubs and struck out. Seriously.
Yes, that was the 2020 NL MVP striking out against a first baseman!
Our comments about Freeman retiring were a joke, of course. Freeman actually went 4-for-5 with a double, home run and 3 RBIs and was a big part of the reason why Rizzo pitched. Atlanta was up 10-0 at the time, so Chicago had Rizzo pitch part of the seventh to spare the bullpen.
Rizzo got two outs and walked a batter before returning to first base.
As for Freeman, he had a great attitude about being struck out by Rizzo. He said he didn’t mind the outcome because he believes it was fun and entertaining for the fans.
He’s right. It was a fun moment for the fans. It’s also a lot easier to be OK with that out when you still have four hits in the game. But if he ends up losing the NL batting title by a point, he might reconsider his attitude.
Amazingly, this is the second viral moment the two have produced in under two weeks.
Photo: EricEnfermero/Wikimedia via CC BY-SA 4.0
Anthony Rizzo was mic’d up for Sunday night’s Chicago Cubs-Atlanta Braves game, and he had one hilarious moment caught on recording.
The Braves had runners on second and third with one out in the top of the fourth inning, leading 6-3. Travis d’Arnaud flew out to right and scored Ronald Acuña Jr. on the play. But then Freddie Freeman, who was on second, got caught in a pickle. He was eventually tagged out to end the inning.
The best part is that Rizzo was yelling at Freeman during the rundown. Take a listen:
That was hilarious.
Rizzo was able to have fun on the play while still getting an out. And even Freeman seemed to be laughing about what Rizzo had done.
Rizzo had to find some levity in the game as his Cubs got smashed 13-4. Acuña also left the game with an injury after that play.
It’s not completely uncommon to see a player hit a home run out of Wrigley Field to left onto Waveland Avenue. Seeing it happen out to right field, however, is a little bit rarer.
Enter Freddie Freeman. The Atlanta Braves slugger got into one in a big way Sunday night against the Chicago Cubs. Freeman’s shot cleared the bleachers in right field on the fly and landed somewhere on Sheffield Avenue.
Even more impressive? This wasn’t a classic situation where the wind is blowing out at Wrigley, so this was more or less Freeman’s ridiculous strength. The ball traveled an estimated 421 feet, according to StatCast.
The only thing missing from Freeman’s dinger? Some visible property damage. Maybe next time.
A young Philadelphia Phillies fan went viral on Friday night after he gave a Freddie Freeman home run ball away to another fan, and the Atlanta Braves star took note of the gesture.
The Phillies fan, whose name is Joshua, was also at the series finale between Philly and Atlanta on Sunday. Freeman surprised the young man during batting practice with a ball that was autographed by both Freeman and Bryce Harper, whose jersey Joshua was wearing.
Freeman needled the fan a bit about not being able to catch his home run ball on Friday night. The ball glanced off Joshua’s glove and it took quite a bit to get it back to him. Some even joked that he gave it away because he felt like he didn’t deserve it.
In the end, it all worked out for everyone. That wasn’t the first time we have seen an awesome gesture from Freeman after a home run. He may play for a team that rivals Joshua’s, but the slugger probably just made himself another fan.
Freddie Freeman is a four-time All-Star and the likely NL MVP winner for this year. And if these videos are any indication, his young son Charlie may be soon following in his footsteps.
Freddie clubbed a 2-run home run to give his Atlanta Braves a 2-0 lead against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday. After the homer, FS1 showed Freeman’s wife Chelsea and son Charlie celebrating.
Then they aired a little piece on the Freemans that highlighted Charlie’s baseball skills. Check out this video shared by Chelsea of her 4-year-old son crushing balls off tees inside what appears to be a hotel ballroom.
The young boy also has a good arm:
Chelsea is currently pregnant with twins, meaning the Freemans will be soon adding some more little sluggers to their team. One day long after Freddie retires, we may be seeing some other Freemans in the majors.
Freddie Freeman gave a point to the press box after his home run on Wednesday, and now we know why.
Freeman put his Atlanta Braves on the board with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the third inning of the team’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. After crossing home plate, he pointed to the press box.
Freeman said after the game that he pointed to the press box as a nod to Hank Aaron, who was a guest on the TV broadcast.
Aaron, 86, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1982 after spending 21 of his 23 MLB seasons with the Braves organization. One of the absolute legends of the game, he still is the MLB career leader for RBIs (2,297) and total bases (6,856). Any time you have a chance to homer in his presence is an honor, which explains Freeman’s gesture.
What’s also impressive is Freeman being at the top of his game despite what he recently went through.
A number of the professional athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19 have dealt with either mild symptoms or none at all. Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman unfortunately had it much worse.
Freeman has returned to Braves camp after fighting off the virus, and detailed his experience for the first time on Saturday. He said that at one point his temperature spiked to 104.5 degrees, leading him to say a prayer for his survival.
On July 4, Freeman’s wife Chelsea detailed the symptoms, revealing that Freeman was dealing with “body aches, headaches, chills, and a fever.” This is the first we’ve heard about just how severe that fever was.
Freeman is 30 years old, in good health, and in excellent physical shape. None of those factors would lead him to be considered at a high risk for serious illness, but that seems to be what happened anyway. If nothing else, it’s a cautionary tale for why safety is paramount right now, both in sports and everywhere else.
The Atlanta Braves received quite a welcomed sight on Friday in the form of two players returning to action.
Both Freddie Freeman and Touki Toussaint were back to practice after beating COVID-19.
The happy reaction from Freeman, who said, “this is wonderful,” said it all.
On July 4, Freeman’s wife posted on social media that Freddie had tested positive for the virus and it “hit him like a ton of bricks.” Seeing him recovered a few weeks later and able to practice must feel great for him, his family, and be a relief to the team and all of his fans/supporters. The same goes for Toussaint.
In order to receive clearance to return to the teams, both players had to have consecutive negative tests.
Toussaint, 24, has pitched in 31 games over the last two seasons and has a career 4.97 ERA. Freeman, 30, had a career-high 38 home runs and 121 RBIs last season, while batting .295/.389/.549 with a .938 OPS. The team has not ruled Freeman out for Opening Day on July 24.
Freddie Freeman is dealing with symptoms after testing positive for the coronavirus.
Freeman was one of four Atlanta Braves players who tested positive for the virus on Friday. Two of the players, Will Smith and Touki Toussaint, are asymptomatic. Freeman has had symptoms though, which his wife detailed on social media Saturday.
According to Freeman’s wife Chelsea, Freddie has had headaches, chills and a high fever since Thursday.
The Braves first baseman tested negative for the virus on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old has spent his entire career with the Braves. He had a career-high 38 home runs and 121 RBIs last season, while batting .295/.389/.549 with a .938 OPS.
Freddie Freeman apparently went through a lot just to get on the field during the 2019 campaign.
The Atlanta Braves first baseman told Jeff Schultz of The Athletic this week that he often had to take painkillers before games last season due to ongoing issues with his elbow. Specifically, Freeman said that he took two pills before almost every game for six weeks and also dabbled in cortisone injections and painkiller shots.
“If I wasn’t taking the really hard pain pills, I was taking as many extra strength Tylenols as I could,” said Freeman before noting that he would not take the painkillers too close to game time because “it would make my vision go kind of blurry.
“There were some days I would try to go without it,” continued the four-time All-Star. “I would go in for [bat] flips before the game, and I’d swing, and the bat would fall out of my hand. That’s when I would sprint to the training room and go, ‘Give me the pills — I need it.’ That would be 10 minutes before the game so my vision would be going a little bit … I was just trying to gut it out.”
Freeman also added that he did not have any addiction worries with regard to the painkillers. Through it all, the 30-year-old still somehow managed to have one of his best individual seasons in 2019, hitting .295 with 38 homers and 121 RBIs in 158 appearances.
Last October saw Freeman finally undergo arthroscopic surgery on the elbow, so hopefully now he will no longer have to deal with the at times bizarre issue.
