As the Los Angeles Dodgers look to defend their crown, star first baseman Freddie Freeman has emerged as one of the team’s driving forces. After a relatively slow start to the season—partly due to nagging injuries—Freeman has caught fire offensively. The turning point, he says, came during what many viewed as a forgettable loss.
Los Angeles Dodgers Freddie Freeman Pinpoints Turning Point in Early-Season Surge
On April 25, the Dodgers were shut out by the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3–0. For most fans, it was just another early-season blip. But for Freeman, a sixth-inning single off Pirates phenom Paul Skenes signaled something much bigger.
“It was a changeup away, and I was able to stay through it and hit a line drive up the middle,” Freeman told the Los Angeles Times. “That’s when I kind of figured things were working … That’s when my confidence in my swing kind of skyrocketed, was after that hit.”
At the time, Freeman was hitting just .250. Since then, he’s been nearly unstoppable. Over his last 61 at-bats, the veteran is hitting .475 with five home runs, 22 RBIs, six doubles, and a triple—one of the most productive stretches of his career.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised Freeman’s resilience and ability to manage his physical limitations.
“I just think he’s relentless,” Roberts said. “I can’t remember him being this good, for this long.”
“He’s been ailing. But he’s moving really well. And he’s doing a really nice job of sort of playing with a governor, managing it, knowing when to pick his spots, manage his work, all that.”
Freeman’s resurgence is especially noteworthy given his 2024 campaign. While he had big moments during last year’s title run, he batted .282—his lowest average since 2015—and acknowledged some inconsistency.
“There’d be spurts last year where it was good, and then it’d go away,” Freeman said. “Even at the beginning of this year, it was still a little cutty.”
He credits that pivotal at-bat against Skenes for helping him trust his ability to drive pitches in tough locations—particularly down and away.
“The previous two weeks, I would probably have rolled that over,” he said. “But that pitch in that location, and how I hit it off Paul in that at-bat, I felt like I was in a good spot. It kind of helped my confidence.”
Still, Freeman admits there’s no magic formula to explain the surge.
“I don’t know what changed,” he said. “I’ve been doing the same routine, the same thing. That’s why you can never figure this game out. You just gotta ride it out. Just seeing strikes and hitting them. I wish there was more I could give you. I do the same routine every day, try to hit strikes. And they’re just falling right now.”
Now leading the NL West at 27–14, the Dodgers are clicking as a team, and Freeman’s return to MVP-caliber form couldn’t come at a better time. They open a three-game home series against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday, with their veteran slugger right in the middle of the action.