Freddie Freeman has been on the disabled list since mid-May, and apparently his time on the shelf has triggered something of a reawakening in him.
The Atlanta Braves slugger told reporters on Wednesday that he plans to play third base for the team upon his return from injury.
“[My] mindset is to return as a third baseman,” said Freeman, per ESPN. “I mentioned it and said I’d be willing to move over to third base to accommodate Matt [Adams], who’s been pretty spectacular for us. It really happened yesterday when I was walking to the field.
“I’m completely on board with it, want to do it,” he added. “Gotta keep Matt’s bat in the lineup, and I’ll do anything to win. So this is what we came to.”
Freeman has been sidelined since breaking his left wrist on May 17. The injury prompted the Braves to acquire Adams in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals as a fill-in. Adams has been phenomenal for them since, batting .296/.349/.635 with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs in just 29 games.
As for Freeman, he has been a first baseman for his entire eight-season MLB career and has played 935 of his 946 career games at first. ESPN also notes that he hasn’t played third base since 2007 when he was a 17-year-old in the rookie Gulf Coast League. But the 32-38 Braves, currently a surprising second in the NL East, do indeed need to find a way to keep Adams’ bat in the lineup, and it sounds like the always-flexible Freeman is here for it.
It took an injury to slow down Freddie Freeman, because the truth is no pitcher was able to do so this season.
The Atlanta Braves first baseman was hit on the wrist by a pitch during Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays. X-rays were inconclusive, so he was sent for more testing on Thursday.
FOX MLB reporter Ken Rosenthal says Freeman is in a cast and expected to miss at least eight weeks with a fractured wrist, though he won’t need surgery.
Freeman entered Thursday tied for the league lead with 14 home runs. The 16-21 Braves will miss his bat and presence for the length of time he will miss.
Freddie Freeman will undergo further testing on Thursday after leaving Wednesday’s game when he was hit on the wrist by a pitch.
The Atlanta Braves first baseman was hit as he turned into a pitch that was high and tight during an at-bat in the fifth inning.
Freeman underwent X-rays on his wrist that apparently were inconclusive.
This could be devastating for the Braves. Freeman is mashing this season and entered the game with 14 home runs on the season, tying him for the MLB lead.
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.
Freddie Freeman started Wednesday’s game, but did not finish it due to a family matter.
Freeman’s wife was expecting the couple’s first child this week and the time finally came. The Braves first baseman was in the starting lineup for their game against the Marlins. However, during the seventh inning, Freeman was seen hastily making his way through the dugout and to the clubhouse on his way out of the stadium.
On the diamond, Freeman has been a bright spot in a long season for the last place Braves. He came into Wednesday hitting .296 with 39 doubles, a career-high 30 home runs, and 78 RBI. Away from the ballpark, Freeman will soon have a bundle of joy. Congratulations Freddie!
The city of Atlanta has practically come to a stop in the wake of a small amount of snow falling over the area on Tuesday. The southern part of the country is experiencing unusually cold temperatures, and over the past 24 hours we have seen car accidents, cars stuck at the bottom of hills, gridlocked traffic and mass chaos. Chipper Jones was not afraid.
On Tuesday night, Jones’ former Atlanta Braves teammate Freddie Freeman tweeted that he had been stuck in Atlanta traffic for hours.
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Freddie Freeman is putting together quite the campaign for the NL All-Star team’s Final Vote. The Atlanta Braves first baseman was leading the voting as of Wednesday morning, and his prospects got even stronger when an unexpected celebrity endorsed him on Wednesday afternoon.
No, we’re not talking about Lil Jon. The Atlanta-born rapper did tweet his support of Freeman on Tuesday afternoon, but Freeman’s latest endorsement may pack even more of a punch. That’s right, Ron Gronkowski has spoken.
We have no idea why Gronk is a Freeman fan, but his 450,000 Twitter followers should give the Braves star even more of a boost. Gronk was born in New York, so there is no Atlanta connection there. He played college ball at Ole Miss, which I guess is kind of close? In any event, I’m sure Freeman will take the popularity any way he can get it.
The Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays have been encouraging their fans to support one another in the 2013 MLB All-Star Game Final Vote, and their plan has worked thus far. As of Wednesday morning, Braves first basemen Freddie Freeman was leading the NL vote and Blue Jays pitcher Steve Delabar was in first in the AL.
Most people expected Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig to generate the most votes on the NL side, but he remains in second place. And rapper Lil Jon, who is from Atlanta, is hoping to help keep it that way.
Several people like this AL manager have said they do not believe Puig deserves an All-Star spot since he has only been in the majors a month, and so far it looks like the fans agree. As long as Braves and Jays fans continue to make good on their partnership and Freeman keeps getting endorsements from rap stars, he has as good a shot as anyone.
