close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

    • Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman channels Kirk Gibson with walk-off grand slam
    news

    Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman channels Kirk Gibson with walk-off grand slam

    Vaseline Posted on

    play

    LOS ANGELES – It was Kirk Gibson again.

    It was Roy Hobbs in ‘The Natural’.

    It was classic Hollywood.

    “It might be,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “the greatest baseball moment I’ve ever experienced.”

    Freddie Freeman, who a week ago could barely walk with his badly sprained ankle, who left the team this summer and didn’t know if he would return with his 3-year-old son fighting for his life, stepped up to the plate Friday night for a screaming crowd of 52,394 people, producing one of the most dramatic events in World Series history.

    With one swing of the bat, Freeman created a memory that may never be forgotten in Dodgers lore: a two-out, walk-off grand slam in the 10e inning and led the Dodgers to a 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series.

    Freeman, swinging on the first pitch from Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes, hit a 90-mph fastball that flew high into the right-field pavilion, almost the exact spot Gibson homered to in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

    It was the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history, and the first walk-off World Series home run on a first pitch since Mickey Mantle for the Yankees in Game 3 of the 1964 World Series.

    Standing at home plate, Freeman raised his bat in the air, tossed it aside and slowly ran around the bases as Dodger Stadium literally shook.

    “It felt like it was floating a little bit,” Freeman said. “Those are the kinds of things when you’re five years old with your two older brothers and you’re playing ball in the backyard. Those are the scenarios you kind of dream about, two outs, bases loaded in a World Series game …

    “You dream about those moments, even when you’re 35 and have been in the league for 15 years. You want to be part of that.

    “To actually have it happen, and get a home run and walk away with it, that’s the best thing that could happen right there.”

    Only three Dodgers players – relievers Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson and Ryan Brasier – were even alive for Gibson’s dramatic homer, but oh how they watched the highlights over and over again.

    “No shade on Kirk or anything, but I don’t know him,” Dodgers All-Star right fielder Mookie Betts said. “That was before my time. I look at the history of Freddie Freeman.”

    The 2024 Dodgers are indeed making their own history and will be able to tell their children and grandchildren about the night.

    Dodgers infielder Max Muncy — who has met Gibson a few times — still struggled to find the right words to describe his emotions, even as he witnessed them firsthand.

    “I was actually standing on the top step holding my bat,” Muncy said. “I don’t know why I held it, there was no way I was going to get up that inning. Then he hit it. , and as soon as he hit it, I just launched my bat.

    “At that point the batsman will normally tell you whether he has done well or not. But with Freddie you normally don’t get that, because Freddie always just puts the bat down and runs away.

    “But when you look at home plate, and he’s just holding the bat in the air, standing in the box, and hasn’t taken a step yet, you go, ‘Oh my God!'”

    As Freeman strolled around the bases and went through a Dodgers glove waiting for him at home plate. He stomped on it and kept running, all the way to the back stop, where his father sat in the front row.

    “It was kind of an impulsive action,” Freeman said. ‘I saw him hugging a lot of people there. … I think he was so nervous going into that. I just wanted to share that with him because he’s been there. He has also been through a lot in his life, and to experience such a moment, I wanted to be part of it with him at that moment…

    “That’s especially his moment, because if he didn’t give me batting practice, if he didn’t love the game of baseball, I wouldn’t be here playing this game. So that’s Fred Freeman’s moment right there.”

    Freddie Freeman was the one who left the team for almost two weeks this summer when his son Max was put on a ventilator to battle Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder.

    “I didn’t know what was going to happen, but it was so scary,” Freeman told USA TODAY Sports. “I can’t emphasize enough how wonderful this organization was. They all reached out. It’s almost like they knew exactly when to reach out. And it was never too much. It was always enough space at the perfect time. That makes this organization so special.’

    It was also this trust that allowed the Dodgers and Freeman to devise a plan to allow him to play with his sprained ankle, which is not expected to fully heal for four to six weeks. He missed two games of the National League Championship Series, including their victory over the New York Mets.

    But by winning the NLCS in six games, it gave Freeman another five days of rest. He came to Dodger Stadium every day, received five hours of daily treatment and promised he would be ready for the World Series.

    In the first inning, he hit a ball into the leftfield corner, which squirted past leftfielder Alex Verdugo and before anyone knew it, he ran onto third base for a triple.

    Roberts’ thoughts?

    ‘Stop!’ said Roberts. ‘He was already in scoring position. … I was glad he came out standing up.”

    Muncy said, “Freddie said before the game that he was going to get the first stolen base and get that Taco Bell thing. And we all told him, if you steal a base, we’re going to walk out on the field and take you guys off the field yourself.” field.”

    But that’s Freeman. When he’s on the field, he plays the game hard and the right way, no matter how much his ankle hurts.

    “He’s a warrior, he’s a fighter,” Betts said. “A win is a win, but knowing what Freddie went through is super special. I’m glad it was him who experienced that moment.”

    It was Betts who set it up just by walking intentionally. The Dodgers are down 3-2 in the 10ehad runners on second and third base with two outs and left-hander Nestor Cortes on the mound. Yankees manager Aaron Boone, not wanting to take a chance with Betts, called on Cortes to deliberately walk him to Freeman.

    “It’s kind of picking your poison,” Freeman said, “that’s what’s so good about our lineup. It’s a tough matchup no matter where you are. When I saw Aaron give the four (signal), I just started my plan and my process, what I was going to look for and where I was going to look for it.”

    He thought Cortes would throw him a fastball on the first pitch because he wouldn’t dare fall behind with the bases loaded. Cortes threw it. Freeman attacked.

    “So I just wanted to be on top of it and be there on time,” Freeman said, “and I was.”

    Betts turned around, saw him flying into the stands, jumped in the air and screamed.

    “I wanted to stop and wait for him,” Betts said, “but I couldn’t. So I just kept running and screaming.”

    And so did the 50,000 fans who stayed until the end, learned their lesson in 1988 and didn’t want to miss history.

    Three more wins now, and this team will also be cherished forever, having won their first World Series in a full season since 1988.

    That team will always be remembered for the Gibson home run, the swing that changed the series, and Gibson’s only plate appearance in the entire series.

    The Freeman home run could have the same emotional impact, but the difference is that Freeman will continue to play and now has no plans to miss a game.

    “He gave us everything,” Muncy said, “he literally gave us his body.”

    Just like Gibson, right?

    “I don’t know, Freddie was moving pretty good, he had a triple tonight,” Muncy said with a laugh. ‘So I don’t know if you can compare that. From everything I heard, Gibson actually had half a leg. …

    “But what Freddie has done is amazing. There have been several times where we’ve had to go to Freddie and say, ‘Hey, you’ve got to sit this one out. Hey, we’ve got you tonight. Be ready for the next game.” But if you know Freddie, that’s not an easy conversation.”

    The way he looked on Friday, the Dodgers think Freeman will do just fine for the rest of the series. He started moving much better two days ago, his teammates said.

    “I’m pretty sure he’s still in a lot of pain,” Dodgers outfielder Enrique Hernandez said, “but not so bad that that was a game in New York where he couldn’t even swing the bat. days were huge.

    ‘Now he’s doing something that’s actually heroic. Freddie is Freddie, man. Freddie is a grinder. There aren’t many superstars who grind like Freddie.

    “He’s a Hall of Famer and this was a special moment in his career. This is a good sign that something is going to happen for him.”

    Freeman, who arrived for treatment 6.5 hours before the game, plans to do the same again Saturday for Game 2. He doesn’t know how he’ll feel when he wakes up. He doesn’t know if he will be in pain. It doesn’t matter, he’ll be in the lineup.

    “Winning a World Series is everything,” Freeman said. “I will do everything I can to be there.”

    No one who knows Freeman would expect anything less.

    Follow Nightengale on X:@Bnightengale

    The USA TODAY app takes you quickly to the heart of the news. Download for award-winning reporting, crosswords, audio stories, the eNewspaper and more.

    Vaseline
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like