LOS ANGELES – Every day of the past month has been a grind for Freddie Freeman. He has undergone daily treatment and hours of rehabilitation before games, with only the hope that he can recover after spraining his right ankle in the final week of the season. This postseason, even walking has often been difficult for the former MVP.
But looking for his second World Series and first with the Dodgers, there was nothing that could keep him out of the lineup for Friday’s Game 1. And when the Dodgers were in danger of going down 1-0 to the Yankees in the World Series, on a night when the odds were slipping through their hands, the 10th inning offered a greater chance for redemption.
“I think you see the end result,” Freeman said after his team’s 6-3 victory. “I watch myself on TV. This trophy will keep you going through the grind every day. …. That is worth it to me.”
With the bases loaded and two outs in the 10th, the stage was set for Freeman, who came into this World Series struggling to find his swing, a challenge as he dealt with constant ankle swelling. After a flyout by Shohei Ohtani and an intentional walk to Mookie Betts, Freeman would face the Yankees’ crafty left-hander Nestor Cortes, with his team trailing by one run.
The Dodgers first baseman didn’t have many moments in October where he was able to come through for his team. But all it takes is one chance to change that.
One swing. One field. One moment. As soon as they heard the crack of the bat, everyone in a packed Dodger Stadium knew what had happened.
Freeman blasted the first pitch he saw from Cortes, launching a 90-mph fastball 400 feet into right field and sending his team to victory. He raised his bat to the sky and placed the Dodgers and the city of Los Angeles on his shoulders.
With that one swing, Freeman turned Game 1 of the 2024 World Series into an instant classic.
“It felt like nothing, it just seemed to float a little bit,” he said after what was by far his best swing in weeks. “Those are the kinds of things – when you’re five years old with your two older brothers, and you’re playing ball in the backyard – those are the scenarios you dream about. Two outs, bases loaded in a World Series game.
“To actually make it happen and get a home run and run it out to give us a 1-0 lead, that’s the best thing that could happen right there.”
And it wasn’t just a walk-off. The World Series lends itself to something more dramatic. Freeman’s walk-off grand slam was the first in World Series history and closed the book on Game 1.
The moments that followed Freeman’s swing of a lifetime were pure jubilation, as his teammates poured out of the dugout and celebrated like kids on a playground. With 52,394 fans screaming and celebrating in a building that shook as the smooth voice of Randy Newman singing “I Love LA” rained down, Freeman was mobbed at the plate.
“It might be one of the…maybe the greatest baseball moment I’ve ever seen, and I’ve witnessed some great ones,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game.
“You don’t see teams celebrating after a game, a walk-off like that, but I just think it was definitely justified. Man, it was a great game before that, but the way it ended, I couldn’t be more excited for our guys.”
Said starter Jack Flaherty, who pitched 5⅓ innings and gave up just two runs in the game: “I didn’t see it go out. It hit him, and there was no doubt about it. … Freddie is incredible.”
It was an instantly iconic moment rivaled only by the legendary swing of Kirk Gibson, whose walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series still stands as one of baseball’s greatest postseason moments. Freeman added his name to that list with his walk-off slam.
He had the swing and the limp. The only thing missing was the double fist pump.
“But I played the whole game,” Freeman corrected with a big smile when asked about the Gibson comp.
Freeman has been experiencing a power outage lately. The grand slam was his first long ball since September 16. Until his triple in the first inning Friday, he hadn’t had an extra base hit this entire postseason.
But in Game 1, Freeman looked different. Even before his 10th-inning heroics, there was a confidence that wasn’t there before. During the NLDS and NLCS, Freeman’s routine was a daily grind, focused on simply getting through the game. But coming into the biggest at-bat of his career, he wanted to do damage.
That first baseman shift could be big in the future, as he and the Dodgers regained momentum and confidence heading into Saturday’s Game 2.
“I love the history of this game. To be a part of it is special,” Freeman said. “I’ve been playing this game for a long time, and to get to those moments, you dream about those moments. Even if you’re 35 and you’ve been in the league for 15 years, you want to be a part of it.
“It’s the kind of energy the crowd brought tonight. Game 1 of the World Series – everyone has been talking about this all week. To get that first win, especially like this, is pretty good, but we still have three more to go.”
It was an incredible night for Freeman, the Dodgers, this postseason and the World Series, but on a micro level it might have been even more important. After celebrating with his teammates at the plate, Freeman pointed behind home plate and began running toward the backstop.
When he got there, his father, Fred, was waiting for him. And just as father and son have done all their lives in the backyard, they shared a moment together. This time with more than 50,000 people sharing it with them.
“That’s especially his moment because if he didn’t give me batting practice — if he didn’t love the game of baseball, I wouldn’t be here playing this game,” he said. “So that’s Fred Freeman’s moment there.
“I just wanted to share that with him because he’s been there. He has also been through a lot in his life, and to experience a moment like that, I wanted to be part of it with him at that moment.”
