When Freddie Freeman signed with the Dodgers in 2022, there was a feeling that he would always be an Atlanta Braves player first. In that first season, there was an emotional return to Atlanta, and he received his World Series ring. He might not finish his career, but we seemed to understand his place in baseball history.
That all changed in the fall of 2024. He hit a walk-off home run in Game 1 of the World Series and eventually took home World Series MVP after a dominant showing at the plate. He then had a ring with both teams, and was now a hero with the new one.
That happens. Surely, he’s still a Braves first and foremost. Well, that was a solid argument until the early hours of Tuesday morning. His heroics were back on full display during Game 3 of the World Series, with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 18th. If the Dodgers win another, he’ll have more rings with his new team.
Whether or not Freeman is remembered as a Brave goes beyond playoff success too. He has four of his nine all-star selections in a Dodgers uniform, every season he’s been on the team. He’s also had two top-five finishes in MVP voting.
It’s starting to feel like it could go either way. Perhaps there is a precedent that can be looked to.
To get an idea of how Freddie could be best remembered, we can look to one of his own teammates in Los Angeles, Mookie Betts. Like Freeman, he won an MVP and a World Series with his previous team, the Boston Red Sox.
Not long after, Betts was bound for Los Angeles. He was traded to the Dodgers ahead of the 2020 season and signed a 12-year, $365 million contract. Since then, he’s won a World Series with his new team twice and could be on his way to a third. By this point, he’s going down a Dodger more than a Red Sox star.
A similar argument can be made for Shohei Ohtani. He won his first MVP and his Rookie of the Year Award with the Angels. He’s only in his second year, and his legacy as a Dodger first is unfolding.
Winning the World Series with the Atlanta Braves is no longer the highlight of Freddie Freeman’s career / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Freeman, Betts and Ohtani all ended up in the same place in different ways. However, their backgrounds are similar and their perception is heading in a similar direction, which is being remembered as a Dodger.
We can look to other former Braves stars to get an idea. Greg Maddux spent nearly as many years with the Cubs as he did with the Braves. However, the latter team is who is typically associated. It’s where most of the success happened.
That being said, that’s now always the case. Fred McGriff was arguably just as good during his years with the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, which his Atlanta years are sandwiched between. However, that time with the Braves is the best remembered by most. That World Series in 1995 likely helps.
How Freeman is remembered is to be determined. That’s the reality for now. However, there might be a conclusion on another discussion point: Which cap will he wear in the Hall of Fame? He could always choose to have an A on his cap, but it’s hard to imagine he does with his success in Los Angeles. If we use precedent, the answer is likely a blank cap.
Both Maddux and McGriff have blank caps since they both had success with multiple teams. There is a good chance that Betts has a similar fate because of his time with Boston being what it was.
There is also another perspective that needs to be looked at: how he’s remembered locally. In Atlanta, McGriff is a Brave. In St. Petersburg, FL, he’s seen as a Devil Ray. McGriff isn’t alone. Randy Johnson is both a Mariner and a Diamondback. Pedro Martinez is beloved in Boston and Montreal. The examples go on.
Freeman, in the long run, could still be a Braves legend, even if he’s remembered by most of the country as a Dodgers star. This seems like the most likely outcome.
Perhaps, that’s a fate that most Braves fans will learn to be OK with. They have the memories. They can’t be taken away. Dodgers fans will have them too. In time, they’ll likely prove to coexist.
