Image credit: (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES – Baseball is a funny game.
It’s often characterized as a game of failure, and that’s definitely the case. It’s a test of grit, toughness, and perseverance to play continuously for six months with little to no rest. What are the rewards for doing so? Another grueling, high-pressure postseason where every mistake is magnified, and one ill-timed or miscalculated mistake can cost you a job and ruin your reputation.
However, it is precisely because of the hardships, constant failures, and pressure that the successes at that time become so great. Baseball remains a passion for generations because those magical moments when talent and timing perfectly align are rare, and inaccurate claims about baseball’s decline are constantly refuted. .
Freddie Freeman produced one of those moments Friday night when he hit a walk-off grand slam to give the Dodgers a surprisingly emotional 6-3 victory over the Yankees in the 10th inning of the World Series in Game 1 of the World Series. It was the first walk-off home run in World Series history, and the first walk-off home run in a World Series game with a team forced to the final out since Kirk Gibson’s legendary home run in 1988.
“I couldn’t feel anything. I just felt like I was floating,” Freeman said. “Those are the kind of scenarios you dream about when you’re 5 years old and playing Wiffle ball in the backyard with your two older brothers.
“You get two outs and the bases loaded in a World Series game. If that actually happens and you hit a home run and walk and get a 1-0 lead, that’s just awesome.”
Just as millions of people were inspired and awed by Gibson’s improbable walk-off home run off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series and fell in love with baseball, he was far too young. Tens of millions of fans remember that famous home run as a special moment for them.
“This might be the greatest baseball moment I’ve ever witnessed. I’ve witnessed some great moments,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “…I felt like I had good chemistry with Freddie at the plate. And just by that swing, I knew it was gone.”
Like Gibson before him, Freeman had many reasons for not being at his best. Earlier this season, his 3-year-old son Maximus was admitted to the ICU with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a neurological disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves. Max became paralyzed and at one point was placed on a ventilator to strengthen his lungs, as the paralysis affected his diaphragm. Freeman spent several days in the pediatric intensive care unit, watching her son fight for his life.
Maximus made an uneventful recovery and is expected to make a full recovery. Still, it’s understandable that the experience took a toll on Freeman, and it’s one that won’t go away anytime soon.
“Freddie is unbelievable,” Dodgers right-hander Jack Flaherty said. “…When you look at the work he’s done and the year he’s had, you can appreciate him as a ballplayer and as a person.”
And then there will be physical pain. Freeman suffered a severe right ankle sprain during the final week of the regular season. He tried to overcome it, but in 33 at-bats in the NLDS and NLCS, he had zero extra base hits and a batting average of .219. Freeman, an Ironman who has only been on the disabled list once in the past seven seasons, limped off and missed Game 4 of the National League against the Dodgers, who were eliminated, and Game 4 of the National League against the Mets, who were determined to win the championship. He was unable to participate in the 6th game of the league CS.
There was six days of rest between the NLCS and the World Series, which gave him some rest, but Freeman is far from 100%. Before Game 1, Roberts spoke of his desire to find opportunities to pull Freeman out of the game early in hopes of keeping him strong throughout the series.
In the first inning, Freeman hit a liner down the left field line, but Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo hit the wall and misplayed it. When the ball rebounded, Freeman reversed at second base and limped his way into third base for a triple, much to the delight of Dodgers fans and his teammates.
Still, it was another sign that he was far from peak form physically, and how much he could contribute to the Dodgers was an open question.
In return, he gave them everything. With the Dodgers trailing by one run and the bases loaded with two outs, Freeman took a picture-perfect swing at Nestor Cortez’s first fastball that reached the infield and crushed it. The ball left the bat at 169.2 mph and traveled an estimated 409 feet, according to Statcast.
The moment he hit it, he knew it was gone. Hours of pent-up tension and energy exploded in Chavez Ravine as Yankees right fielder Juan Soto perched against the wall and watched the ball go over the wall.
“The last few months have been tough with a lot going on, but things are going really well at home,” Freeman said. “Max’s doing great. Obviously the ankle is the ankle. It’s a sprained ankle. That’s about as good as it gets.
“But when you say you’re going to do something like that with this game that’s been around for so long…I love the history of this game, it’s special to be a part of it. I’ve been playing for a long time, but when you show up at that moment, even if you’re 35 and have been in the league for 15 years, you dream of that moment and you want to be a part of it.”
As soon as the ball hit the right-field seats, the 52,394 fans inside Dodger Stadium erupted in joy, screaming, jumping, dancing and hugging loved ones and strangers alike. The stadium shook, tears streamed down everyone’s face, and people from all walks of life came together to celebrate a historic moment they will never forget.
It essentially showcased the beauty and supreme power of baseball.
“I saw the crowd, I felt the ground shaking, I felt the reaction, I felt my teammates. It was just unbelievable,” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said.
The stadium shook as Freeman dove toward home plate and his teammates mangled him. In the concourse and on the stairs, crowds of fans chanted, “Fred, die!” Fred, die! ” Their words echo off the concrete walls. More than an hour after Freeman’s outburst, music blared from the Dodger Stadium parking lot and car horns blared in unison, not out of frustration with Los Angeles traffic but in celebration.
“Just out of love, 53,000, 54,000 people out here cheering us on every night, whether it’s Monday or Tuesday, all season long,” Freeman said. “…They’ve been waiting a long time to see a World Series game here at Dodger Stadium, and I’m glad we were able to bring them a win tonight.”
Those on the other side of the explosion were understandably less thrilled.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone winced in pain as he watched Freeman round the bases. His decision to intentionally walk Mookie Betts and put Cortez, who hadn’t pitched since Sept. 18, against Freeman, with the game on the line, will be scrutinized for a long time.
“It’s just a left-on-left matchup there,” Boone said. “No, I didn’t think long.”
But at the end of the day, what went right at that moment was more important than what went wrong. In a game defined by struggle and failure, a man who has overcome so much will remind everyone of the magic of this game, etched forever in baseball legend and the memories of all who witnessed it. It brought about an iconic moment.
“The game respects you. When you do things the right way, you play the right way and you’re a good teammate. I believe the game respects you,” Roberts said. I did. “Freddie was honored tonight.”
