Freddie Freeman dealt with more than just a nagging ankle problem during the Dodgers’ run to a World Series title.
The Dodgers star also secretly played through the playoffs with broken rib cartilage, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports this on Thursday, the day after the Dodgers defeated the Yankees 7-6 in Game 5 to capture the MLB crown.
Freeman was named World Series MVP when he powered his way against the Yanks and made a bit of history in the process.
Freddie Freeman celebrates after the Dodgers’ Game 5 World Series victory over the Yankees. Brad Penner-Imagn images
The latest revelation makes the feat even more stunning considering the injury he was dealing with.
Freeman had discovered that he had broken the costal cartilage in his sixth rib just days before the start of the Dodgers NLDS series against the Padres.
Freeman had felt the problem during a live batting practice session and couldn’t even pick himself up from the ground, he was in so much pain.
He also had to be helped to the X-ray room, according to the ESPN report.
More testing eventually revealed what was wrong and Freeman’s father Fred even begged him not to play.
“I actually told him to stop,” Fred told ESPN. “I said, ‘Freddie, this isn’t worth it. I know you like baseball. I like baseball. But it’s not worth what you’re going through.” And he looked at me like I was crazy, and he said, ‘Daddy, I’ll never stop.’
Freddie Freeman hits a two-run single in the fifth inning of the Dodgers’ Game 5 victory over the Yankees. SARAH YENESEL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The 2024 season was marked by a number of issues for Freeman, including injuries and off-field anxiety regarding the health of his son Max. It had been a difficult year at times.
After the World Series victory, Freeman said in the Yankee Stadium press conference room that he had learned a lot about himself this year.
“I wish I never had to go through what we went through as a family,” he said. “But ultimately Maximus is doing very well at the moment. He is a special boy, but it has been a routine for three months. That’s true. It’s been a lot. And obviously with the injuries at the end, it makes it all worth it in the end. I will never compare Maximus to baseball. I won’t do that. They are just two different things, but now that he is doing so well, it means a little extra.”
Freeman hit .240 in the World Series and his four home runs in four consecutive games made him the first MLB player ever to do so in the Fall Classic.
He had hit home runs in six consecutive World Series games dating back to the final two games of the World Series in 2021 through the first four games of the series this year.