Freddie Freeman didn’t get off to the best start in 2020. After more than five weeks of baseball, last year’s NL MVP was hitting below the Mendoza Line (.200), but that changed on May 9th when Freeman went 3-4 with a homer in a win over the Phillies, and he hasn’t looked back since. Over his last 57 games, Freeman’s hitting .315 with 12 homers and 11 doubles, leading to a .943 OPS in the span.
Those numbers led to Freeman’s fifth All-Star Game appearance and his third in a row. He was voted in as a starter by the fans and likely would have been selected either way. However, there was a while there where it didn’t always feel like a foregone conclusion, which led to concern from his son, Charlie Freeman, for an entirely different reason.
If you’re not aware, Charlie’s favorite player isn’t his dad. It’s actually San Diego’s superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. One of the amazing things about the MLB All-Star Game is that the family’s of the participant are also very involved in the experience, which makes it the perfect opportunity for Charlie to hang out with his favorite player. That’s what Freddie credits for his turnaround over the last two months.
According to Freddie, when things were going South, Charlie reminded him that he needed to pick it up so that he could meet his favorite player (Tatis Jr.) during the All-Star break.
Freddie Freeman on Intentional Talk:
“Two months ago, I’m hitting .220 BA. And Charlie goes, ‘Daddy, I’m gonna need you to start playing better so I can go to the All-Star Game and meet Fernando.’
I said, ‘That’s the only reason you want me to play better?’
He goes, ‘Yes.’” pic.twitter.com/l4bDYWvBOu
— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) July 13, 2021
Whatever Charlie says seems to go in the Freeman household… as long as it has to do with baseball. As you can see above, he did get the opportunity to meet Tatis before the All-Star Game — a moment I’m sure he’ll never forget.
Several other things can also be attributed to Freeman’s turnaround, most importantly, luck. He’s really hit the ball hard all season, but the Braves will need more than that if they want to stay in the playoff race until the end. Without Ronald Acuña, Freeman will have to be the NL MVP for the second half of the season, and even that might not be enough to carry Atlanta’s offense.
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