HOUSTON — That Freddie Freeman — a man known for his free-flowing emotions — was perfectly suited for a World Series celebration might have been the only predictable element of the Atlanta Braves’ entire 2021 season. When Freeman blasted a double in the fifth inning of Game 6 on Tuesday night, he happily raised a fist in the direction of his family seated in the ballpark. When he homered later, he paused between third and home and invented a new kind of funky wave to throw toward his teammates.
And when Dansby Swanson’s throw sunk into his mitt to clinch the Braves’ first championship in 26 years, Atlanta’s first baseman raised two hands over his head and showed off every bicuspid and molar he possesses. But then Freeman, long known in Atlanta as Freddie the Hugger, really cut loose, embracing his teammates and laughing, a World Series-winning baseball stuffed in his back right pocket.
When a well-wisher congratulated him on the championship shortly afterward, his eyes glistened with tears. “Those are the greatest words you could say,” he responded with a grin.
The past 20 months have been filled with tears — the full range. Tears of sorrow and of fear; of elation and joy. Two pregnancies, one planned with a surrogate and one a happy surprise for Freddie and his wife, Chelsea. A frightening bout with COVID-19 that drove his temperature up to 104.5 degrees and drove him down to his knees in prayer. A National League MVP Award. The birth of two sons, 46 days apart.
Throughout much of those 20 months, Freeman’s looming free agency has also been top of mind — not for him, but for the reporters asking him about it throughout spring training and the early season.
In a conversation last week, Freeman revealed that he had never been thinking about the contract. While the world wondered if he’d sign a new deal, he was debating whether it was acceptable to be away from his two new babies — and whether he should continue in baseball at all.
In fact, had Freeman followed through on a conversation he had with Chelsea in the spring — about deciding to walk away from his career to be present for his boys — he would not have experienced the twists of 2021. An early-season slump for Freeman. Crushing injuries for the team, including the loss of Ronald Acuna, Jr. A shocking midseason turnaround. Three postseason upsets, including over the defending champion Dodgers and heavily favored Astros. Launching that home run in Game 6, with his father and brothers in the stands, with his oldest son, Charlie, watching.
On the field afterward, Freeman laughed behind those tearful eyes as he tried to put into words all the wonder he felt at the previous two years, and the joy of the past three weeks.
The Freemans’ middle son, Brandon, arrived Dec. 30, and through the Freemans’ use of a gestational surrogate, Maximus was born on Valentine’s Day. Chelsea loved seeing the babies in Freddie’s arms, Charlie, 5, bouncing around them. This is what they had always envisioned — a big family, like Freddie had as a child. He and his two brothers and their parents had formed the Freeman 5, and now Freddie and Chelsea had their own Freeman 5.
But Freddie departed for spring training soon after Maximus came home, and for the next 40 days, he was in Florida, 2,500 miles away from Chelsea and the babies in California. The distance saddened him, deeply. He would try to talk to them over video calls, and that seemed empty, futile with newborns. Freddie felt he was in the wrong place, and maybe that shouldn’t have been surprising, given his own life experience. His father had been omnipresent in his life, most importantly in the years after his mother, Rosemary, died from melanoma when Freddie was 10. In those horrible years, Freddie leaned into his father and vice versa, the two of them cherishing each other through daily contact that continues.
Now, only a year after a terrifying sickness of his own, separated from his babies, Freeman began questioning whether he should even be playing baseball, or if he should retire.
It wasn’t a question of whether he loved the game, but of whether he needed to go home. It felt like a matter of right and wrong, and for Freddie, his instinct was that being away from his youngest sons was not right. Freeman has banked plenty of money in his career. He always has the option of walking away. When he talked to Chelsea about it, she told him that she would support him if that’s what he wanted to do.
Freeman decided not to make any decisions before the season began. After more than a month of spring training, he was ready to be reunited with his family — instead, excruciatingly, the Braves’ season opened with six days in Philadelphia and Washington. Then, finally, Chelsea and the Freeman clan traveled from California to Georgia for the season, and Freddie’s Freeman 5 was back together again.
Relieved and euphoric at being reunited, Freddie told the couple’s night nanny that he would take the babies for an evening in early April. At 5 a.m., both happened to wake up together. Freddie tended to them, played with them, and as he pulled them close, both were smiling and laughing, responding to him with signs of recognition.
With that, Freddie explained in a conversation on the eve of the World Series, “I was good.” He had just needed a dose of their smiles — to hear their giggles and feel connected.
From then on, he found ways to be a professional baseball player and an engaged dad. There were days when Swanson would walk into the clubhouse before home games to find Freeman asleep on a couch; like any parent of a newborn — or in the Freemans’ case, two — he had to catch naps when he could.
In the next few days, Freeman will officially reach free agency, after talks between the Braves and the first baseman went nowhere before the start of the 2021 season. The franchise’s ownership cut payroll last winter, amid uncertainty about the financial impact of COVID-19 in 2021. Additionally, the expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement looms. The Braves’ leadership chose to bypass serious conversations about a Freeman extension, opting to wait for more context.
The context for the forthcoming negotiation is more defined. Even with early-season coronavirus restrictions at Truist Park, Braves fans took the seats available to them, robustly supporting the team; Atlanta finished second only to the Dodgers in attendance. With that stream of revenue established, the team’s ownership approved additional payroll for general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who swapped for outfielders Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Soler. Throughout the late-season and October surge, Truist Park and the village around it has continued to be packed.
It’s likely Freeman will draw suitors in the weeks ahead. Big-money teams like the New York Yankees will be in the market for a first baseman, and the expectation is that clubs like the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners will spend aggressively this winter. Freeman could have options, and if the Braves conduct business as they have in the past, they might try to nudge him to accept the sort of team-friendly deal that Chipper Jones, John Smoltz and other Braves did. Nobody knows when the next CBA will be signed, or how the terms — or perhaps a work stoppage — will reshape the financial landscape.
Freeman has become the face of their franchise, one of the most popular players ever for a team with a loyal fan base that spent big this year. And not long after Freeman caught that last out in the Braves’ championship, he pulled the baseball out of his pocket to show to Terry McGuirk, Atlanta’s chairman, and the two men embraced. For McGuirk, letting Freeman walk away in this moment would seem indefensible. Sure enough, rival executives privately say they will be surprised if McGuirk and the Braves’ ownership let that happen.
Just like in spring training, Freeman had other things on his mind on the field after Game 6 — but it was for a very different reason. His family was ushered onto the field about 15 minutes after the last pitch, and Freeman hugged Chelsea, his brothers and his son Charlie.
He hugged his father, Fred, who had helped him through those terrible, numb days after his mom died, and who threw him batting practice for hours when he was a boy. Fred, whose life was saved by Freddie just a couple of years after Rosemary died, after Fred felt poorly and Freddie insisted he go to the hospital; one doctor told them Fred would not have lasted long had he not.
Revelling in a moment of joy after two years filled with so much emotion, the Freemans all shared in a group picture. Freddie stood in the middle of a group, his face overwhelmed by a smile that will last into next season.