Just like 2020, Freddie Freeman began the season lethargically, but it was always just a matter of time before he turned it around, and over the last couple of weeks, that’s started to happened. Entering yesterday’s contest, Freeman had posted an OPS of over 1.000 in his last eleven games, thanks to five homers and seven walks, and his slash line continued to improve after Wednesday’s performance.
Freemen may have only gone 2-for-4 with a couple of singles, but every ball he hit was scorching. In the first inning, he lined out to Francisco Lindor and he was robbed of another double heading for the right-field wall in his third at-bat.
When Freddie gets hot, all he sees is red, which is why he cruised to the NL MVP last season, but it wasn’t all flowers and rainbows in 2020. Following a brutal bout with COVID, Freeman began the season hitting just .190 with a .656 OPS over the first two weeks. It was so bad (by his standards) that he began to think the team might even be better off without him. Then everything changed.
Over Freeman’s last 47 games, he hit a silly .378 with a 1.211 OPS, including 12 homers and 21 doubles. Once he got going, so did the rest of the lineup. Over those 47 games, the Braves went 27-20, running away with the NL East. It’s contagious, and that could be what turns the tide for the Braves again in 2021. This team needs Freeman to play like an MVP now more than ever, and it’s beginning to look like one of those torrid stretches is around the corner.
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