Freddie Freeman reached a historic mark on Friday — then got a big message of support from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 35-year-old hit a three-run blast in the third inning of the team’s May 5 game against the Miami Marlins, setting a pair of historic marks in the meantime. The longtime member of the Atlanta Braves has now hit 41 career home runs against the Marlins, tying him for the most by an opposing hitter.
The homer was also career No. 350 for Freeman, which prompted a big response from the club.
Dodgers Praise Freddie Freeman for Historic Homer
The team took to social media to praise Freeman’s accomplishment, sharing a graphic with a simple message.
“Congratulations Freddie on 350 career home runs!” the team wrote in a post on X.
Many fans joined in congratulating Freeman, with the MLB acknowledging this accomplishment on social media.
Freeman’s home run gave the Dodgers a 3-0 lead, with teammate Shohei Ohtani later hitting another homer as the Dodgers won 7-4.
Freddie Freeman Has Given the Dodgers a Major Boost
Though Freeman hit a majority of his home runs with the Atlanta Braves — 271 in Atlanta in total — he has had some memorable blasts with the Dodgers.
One of the biggest did not count toward his 350 career home runs, his walk-off grand small in Game 1 of the World Series last year. The blast set the tone for the series, with the Dodgers cruising to a victory over the New York Yankees in five games.
Freeman had suffered a badly sprained ankle near the end of the regular season but was able to play through discomfort in the playoffs. He went on to earn World Series MVP honors.
“I did a lot of work in between the NLCS and the World Series,” Freeman said, via MLB.com. “Thankfully, my ankle got into a good spot where I could work on my swing, and I found a cue that really worked for me. I was able to slow things down. All you’re trying to do is swing at strikes, take balls and hit the mistakes. Thankfully, I was able to do that for five games.”
The World Series home run — and No. 350 this season — almost never happened. Freeman’s wife revealed that he considered retirement after their 3-year-old son was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome last year.
Freeman had to miss a string of games, deciding he would need to retire if the boy’s condition did not improve.
“There was a point, like, if Max didn’t get better, I don’t know if Freddie would have gone back to playing,” Chelsea Freeman said, via Dodgers Nation. “So Max getting better in itself is a miracle and then for Freddie to be able to finish the way that he did … I feel like we needed that.”
Chelsea Freeman reported that their son has been getting better and will be following in his dad’s footsteps this summer by joining Little League.
“I didn’t even know if I’d be able to sign him up for Little League a few months ago,” Chelsea said, via The New York Post. “He’s still in physical therapy, he’s going to be doing that probably through July, so it’s on track with the one-year recovery from Guillain-Barré, but he’s doing absolutely fantastic.”
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