Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman was a surprise omission from Friday's lineup against the Los Angeles Angels.
Sep 10, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman look on from the dugout durining the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.
Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn ImagesFreeman doesn't like to miss games unless he has to, and rarely takes days off — especially this early in the season. : two for the birth of his daughter and one the day after the Dodgers clinched the National League West division. , and the Dodgers aren't clinching the NL West in May. So, there was immediately some questions regarding his absence on Friday.
Manager Dave Roberts revealed the reasoning behind Freeman's surprise exclusion from the lineup, saying it was just a day off — but there was a little more to it.
"Yeah ," Roberts said. "Just being in the middle of 13 in a row, I just felt that this was a good day to kind of sit and watch a ball game. " Roberts continued, unprompted: "He's been doing great. He's trending in the right direction the last couple weeks.
But I still feel that it's still the right thing to just kind of give him a day in the middle of this stretch.
" Roberts said he texted Freeman a couple days ago letting him know about this plan. Freeman tried to convince him multiple times that he was OK to play, but Roberts "remained firm" in his decision. Freeman has appeared in 42 games for the Dodgers this year, slashing .270/.343/.423 with four home runs, 20 runs batted in and an OPS of .766.
He's continuing to post every day — as he's done his entire career — but did go through an early season struggle that led him to change something in his mechanics. Freeman slightly altered his batting stance, turning his front foot inward, trying to focus on keeping his front hip from opening up.
“I was just in Houston one day, in the morning, and I was like, ‘You know, I can’t keep pushing balls to left field,’” Freeman said,. “I’ve always done little tweaks mentally, externally. I’ve always done like a, hip in. And this time, I just did a foot turn in, to do the same thing.
” The move paid instant dividends, as he went 4-for-11 in the series against the Houston Astros and then homered off Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale in the opener of the next series. Noah Camras graduated from the University of Southern California in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in sports media studies. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and has extensively covered Southern California sports in his career.
Noah is the publisher of Dodgers on SI after contributing as a writer and editor over the last three years.
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