It has been an eventful year for Freddie Freeman. About 11 months ago, he plucked the last out of the World Series from the leather of his glove, screamed to the heavens and deposited it in his back pocket as he ran to celebrate with his Atlanta Braves teammates. In the afterglow of that capstone achievement — for the franchise and the player who had come to embody it — manager Brian Snitker said, “I don’t know what I’d do without him, quite honestly.”
In that moment, no one really thought he would have to figure it out. Freeman, a year removed from an MVP award, made no secret about his intention of returning to Atlanta even though he was set to enter free agency. But four months later, on the other side of a lockout and some negotiations that did not produce a signed contract, GM Alex Anthopoulos swung a trade for Matt Olson. In one shocking tweet, it became apparent that Freeman and the Braves — inseparable for so long — would go forward separately.
Both parties, somehow, seemed shaken by the seismic change. The Los Angeles Dodgers soon swooped in and inked Freeman to a six-year, $162 million deal, but the league’s resident juggernauts adding a third ring-wearing superstar to the top of their lineup somehow took a back seat. When Freeman returned to Atlanta for the first time in June, the breakup was still fresh. The emotions flowed freely, and then came the intrigue. Days later, Freeman cut ties with his agents at Excel Sports Management. That escalated into a full sideshow when Fox Sports Radio basketball commentator Doug Gottlieb tweeted an accusation that Excel had failed to relay a Braves contract offer to Freeman. Gottlieb retracted that after being sued for libel.
And when we all looked beyond the intrigue, there was Freeman, perpetuating the Main Character Energy on the field. In his new environs, Freeman is having the best full season of his career. By FanGraphs’ calculations, he’s about to notch his first 7 WAR season.
His fully evolved excellence has melded with that of Mookie Betts and Trea Turner to give the Dodgers a terrifying, October-tested 1-2-3. Now, with the Braves having summited the NL East once again, Freeman, the Dodgers and the Braves are careening toward a new confrontation, one that could repeat for years to come.
Freddie Freeman demonstrating his value in 2022
It’s true that intrigue does not require importance in 2022. But the most eyebrow-raising drama in baseball did indeed surround the best player who changed teams. While he’s almost certainly going to run a hearty third or fourth in NL MVP voting — 15 homers and some narrative oomph shy of Paul Goldschmidt — Freeman has a legitimate case.
He’s batting an eye-popping .325 and reaching base at a .407 clip, outproducing the average MLB hitter by 56%, according to park-adjusted metric wRC+. All those marks would rank second in his career behind the dominant 60-game 2020 season that won him his NL MVP nod. Oh, he also has a career-best 13 stolen bases, because sure.
Max Scherzer calls Freeman the toughest hitter he’s ever had to face, and the full scope of Freeman’s mastery has come into view as pitchers’ tactics have evolved. Long one of the game’s most devastating fastball hitters, Freeman has maintained that status while also punishing the sliders and cutters proliferating around the league.
Those late-breaking, often high-speed offerings made up 20% of the league’s pitches in 2015, and 24% in 2019. In 2022, 28% of all pitches have been sliders or cutters, according to Statcast. The reason is simple: They are more effective than fastballs, in aggregate. Just not against Freeman. He’s batting an MLB-best .382 against sliders and cutters this year. His overall…
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