After Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman missed the last three games with a fractured finger, he returned to the lineup and had an explosive performance Friday in the win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, 10-6. Ahead of the Dodgers facing the Diamondbacks in the second contest of the four-game series, Freeman spoke Friday about returning to the team.
Missing the whole series against the Baltimore Orioles, Freeman came back with a bang as in his first at-bat, he hit a two-run home run. There is no doubt that it has been a stressful past month to say the least for Freeman as besides the finger injury his son Maximus was hospitalized though he is fortunately recovering as he called the break a mental reset according to The Los Angeles Times.
“I think we would say it was a finger break,” Freeman said. “But I took the last three days to just shut the brain off and not really worry too much about things. Give my mind a break.”
“I think we all knew the finger fracture wasn’t going to be not fractured in four days,” Freeman continued. “But once I got into the break, that’s when I was like, ‘You know what, I think it’s time to just shut [my mind] off for a second’ … It’s been a lot the last six weeks. So tried to take it as much as I could.”
Besides the three games missed because of the finger, he would miss eight more before due to coming home to be there for his son Maximus and wife Chelsea.
Dodgers' Dave Roberts talks importance of Freddie Freeman break
There is no doubt that balancing being a baseball player mixing in with a father and husband tested Freeman, but the priority was obviously with his family during that time.
“It’s been a lot in the last month and a half for our family,” Freeman said. “Grinding and making sure my kids are OK, [my wife] Chelsea’s OK, family’s OK.”
It was Dodgers manager Dave Roberts who said Freeman should take off a bit to heal the finger and Freeman would end up agreeing. Though the manager poked fun saying that it is easier to deal with him when he is on the field since the first baseman was eager to play in the missed time.
“He’s a nuisance,” Roberts joked. “He just kind of doesn’t know what to do with himself. It’s a lot easier to manage him when he’s on the field.”
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“I think all the coaches are happy that I’m back in the lineup,” Freeman said with a laugh reportedly by the Los Angeles Times. “Yesterday, I was very antsy and restless.”
The break probably came out at a great time for Freeman as a significant September approaches in the midst of a crucial series against Arizona who is second to Los Angeles in the NL West.
“I think it’s one of those things that, you really don’t know or can’t appreciate what you need until you do it,” Roberts said, concurring that the last week did as much for Freeman’s psyche as his finger. “That little break, I think, was really good for him. Now we can look and see a sprint for September, and that’s certainly doable for Freddie.”
Freeman is hitting a .283 batting average with 18 home runs and 76 RBIs in 124 games.
