Freddie Freeman brings the Dodgers to the brink of the title: “A very special run”

NEW YORK – Let's remember: Freddie Freeman never thought he would end up in Los Angeles. If one or two things had gone differently three winters ago, the city might not have its newest World Series symbol. The Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman was embraced nonetheless, and Dodger Stadium chanted his name, much as fans in Atlanta did 12 years earlier. It wasn't long ago that Freeman himself was the spectacular free-agent signing, a mix of the Dodgers' opportunism and a desire to keep the eternal window open for a hopefully golden era.

Now it can mean so much more.

The Dodgers are one win away from winning the World Series after beating the New York Yankees 4-2 in Game 3. Freeman is a victory for his legacy and legend to be set in stone in Los Angeles.

“You said it, legacy,” Max Muncy said. “For a man like Freddie, who doesn’t really need anything else to cement his legacy, this was a very special run for him.”

Freeman has already painted the defining picture of his term in office. In Game 1 of that World Series, Freeman defeated a Dodgers team that was in the Finals and led them to victory. Like Kirk Gibson 36 years before him, the walking-challenged superstar, battling a painful right ankle sprain last month, had run into the right-side pavilion to pull off the victory and turn the tide of the franchise's October campaign.

Freddie Freeman joined Barry Bonds and Hank Bauer as the only players to hit a home run in the first three games of a World Series. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)

“I assume Freddie will never pay for a meal in LA again,” Kiké Hernández said. “Not just because of what he's done the last three (games), but what he's done in the last month to put himself in a position to just show up and wear cleats. … I really don’t think you guys have any idea what he went through to be able to play for us.”

Unlike Gibson, Freeman wrote an encore: he hit a home run again as the Dodgers beat Yankees starter Carlos Rodón in Game 2. And one more thing: Freeman put the Dodgers on top, 2-0, before Yankee Stadium erupted with balls in Game 3. The two-run home run in the first inning gave his team an advantage it wouldn't relinquish.

Freeman got the information he wanted in his first attack. He had never faced Yankees right-hander Clarke Schmidt, a talented starter with elite skills, even as the Dodgers waited patiently for him to throw it into the strike zone. But Schmidt showed Freeman everything he had within three pitches. He threw a sweeper to the bottom of the zone to beat the former MVP. He lured him with a cutter above the strike zone. He then threw a curveball to Freeman and leaned back into the zone for a second strike.

“I could see everything he had,” Freeman said.

When Schmidt threw another cutter, high but not high enough and inside but not inside enough, Freeman turned it on. The line drive didn't land until the ball bounced between the seats on the short porch in right field. It was Freeman's third home run in as many games to start the World Series, a feat only Barry Bonds (2002) and Hank Bauer (1958) had achieved. Dating back to his time as an Atlanta Brave in 2021, Freeman has now hit a home run in each of his last five World Series games, a major league record.

“Even on one leg, he’s Freddie Freeman carrying us right now,” Mookie Betts said.

“It’s starting to become some superheroes,” Hernández said.

In a season dominated by the Dodgers' superstars, in which the team invested more than a billion dollars in one winter to secure its franchise for the next decade, it was Freeman who initially faded into the background. Shohei Ohtani's presence in Los Angeles dominated the landscape. It was Betts who had much of the remaining oxygen, from his move to shortstop just before Opening Day to his broken hand that kept the Dodgers out most of the summer.

Freeman endured a frustrating start, complaining about a swing that never felt right. He was forced to adapt: ​​Freeman was demanding about his routines and insisted on avoiding the training room and listened to the Dodgers' advice. When his youngest son, Maximus, was temporarily paralyzed and hospitalized with a rare neurological disorder, Guillain-Barré syndrome, Freeman left the Dodgers for a total of 10 days. Maximus' health has since improved, but the challenges of this difficult year remain. The Dodgers parted ways with one of his best friends in the game, Jason Heyward, before the final month of the season. By this time, Freeman had already suffered a broken right middle finger. Freeman's production endured, even if it did not receive top billing.

“He probably had the worst year of his career, and he probably still batted about (.282) with about (22) home runs or something and had an OPS of about (.854), and that was the worst year of his career “Hernández said. “That says a lot about the player.”

Then came the night the Dodgers won the division, when Freeman badly twisted his ankle trying to avoid a tag near first base. Doctors told Freeman that the injury typically requires a recovery period of four to six weeks. Eight days later, Freeman started at first base for the Dodgers.

His mere presence in the lineup caused a stir. Its production remained limited. Freeman did not record an extra base hit in either of the Dodgers' first two playoff series in October. Twice the pain in his ankle became unbearable and he sat there – the Dodgers won both games, including the one that won them the pennant.

That would have been enough. Freeman, badly taped ankle and everything to help the Dodgers return to the World Series after exiting each of his first two October games in Los Angeles. He had helped the Dodgers return to that highest level.

The days since have given his ankle time to heal and the legend to grow. Freeman and hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc found a mental cue that opened up his swing and allowed him to generate power through the pain in his ankle. It obviously worked.

Freeman's ankle still hurts, especially after he fouled a ball on it in the seventh inning Monday night. But his swing probably hasn't felt that good all season.

It was also added to his lore. The “Fre-ddie” chants grew louder at Dodger Stadium in Game 2. Before his first punch on Monday, Bronx supporters also chanted his name, only with a curse word before it. With another win, Freeman will be one of the names that will be remembered by Yankees fans for years to come.

It will immortalize him in Los Angeles, just as it did for Gibson, Orel Hershiser and others of his ilk.

“I really just want to lift this trophy,” Freeman said. “I don’t care how this happens. I don’t care if I go 0 in the next 70 strikeouts, as long as we win, that’s all I care about.”

(Top photo: Luke Hales / Getty Images)