The Atlanta Braves have long known that Freddie Freeman is a special player. He’s the kind of player you build a franchise around. And so they did. Atlanta faced early criticism in locking up the first baseman for eight years and $135 million. Now, he’s showing that he’s worth every cent offered in the deal.
Freddie Freeman Is Heating Up
The Pittsburgh Pirates welcomed the Atlanta Braves to the 2017 season with a three-game series sweep. The final game ended in disappointment after Julio Teheran went seven strong innings, giving up six hits and two unearned runs. Teheran has shown he’s willing to do anything and everything to make the season count, and is taking his place as one of the league’s best pitchers.
Today marked the 15th time Teheran has completed at least 7 IP w/o allowing an earned run. He’s now done so in 7 of his past 27 starts
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 9, 2017
The silver lining in this nine-inning set, however, was Freddie Freeman’s bat. Freeman was 2-for-17 with five strikeouts heading into the April 9 game, after going 3-for-4 with a triple to open the season. The cold streak officially ended with a 4-for-5 night. He blasted two home runs and a double, and even stole a base on the way to three runs scored.
Freeman joins Marcus Giles (7/28/03) and Chipper (8/20/00) as the only Braves to ever have four hits, two homers and a SB in one game.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 9, 2017
Business as Usual
Saying that Freddie Freeman is heating up may actually be a bit of a misleading statement. He went on a tear in 2016 that ended in uproar when Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo took home the Silver Slugger instead, despite only topping Freeman in the RBI category. Spring Training showed the league that even winter couldn’t freeze Freeman.
Spring Training is supposed to be a time for players to thaw out, to work out the kinks, and to get themselves ready for the upcoming season. Freddie Freeman stepped onto the scene and went 23-for-47. A 1-for-3 game with a home run on March 31 was the reason he just barely missed out on a .500 average. Freeman has set the league on fire since last June. No evidence has surfaced that he won’t keep that fire blazing.
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