Freddie Freeman’s continued success with the Los Angeles Dodgers is an unfortunate case of seller’s remorse for the Atlanta Braves.
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Following an iconic 12-year tenure with the Atlanta Braves, Freddie Freeman will always be remembered as one of the best players in franchise history. He’s since cemented his legacy as a member of their National League rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers … and is showing zero signs of slowing down.
Freeman has debunked the “championship hangover” theory by starting the 2025 MLB campaign on an absolute torrid pace after securing 2024 World Series MVP honors. He’s raking and garnering buzz to claim this year’s regular-season version of the award, rubbing salt into the wounds of Braves Country.
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Freddie Freeman is thriving with the Dodgers, which has Braves Country wishing it had a time machine
Freeman leads the NL in batting average (.376), slugging percentage, (.734) OPS (1.170), OPS+ (228) and rOBA (.478). He has nine home runs, 33 RBIs and 10 doubles across 109 at-bats.
His performance in the heart of Los Angeles’ lineup has been vital to their title defense efforts and league-best winning percentage thus far this season.
Braves fans are Matthew McConaughey’s character in Interstellar personified. Reflecting on general manager Alex Anthopoulos’ past trials and tribulations, yearning to go back in time to stop him from re-routing Freeman to L.A. Meanwhile, Atlanta’s struggling to hang around .500 as the first baseman is at the forefront of the Dodgers’ success.
Anthopoulos and Co. ostensibly didn’t want to commit to Freeman beyond a certain year/price point during their well-chronicled failed extension talks in 2022. The Braves acquired Matt Olson that offseason to counteract the stalled negotiations, effectively ending the eight-time All-Star’s time in Atlanta. Oh, how poorly that decision has proven to age.
Olson’s been solid if not great for the Braves. But Freeman is 35 and seemingly remains at the height of his powers. Atlanta was betting on Father Time catching up to the latter, hence their unwillingness to meet his demands, though he’s aging like fine wine.
ESPN Bet currently gives Freeman 14-to-1 odds of winning MVP this season. If he does it (or even comes close), it’ll be a brutal reality for the Atlanta faithful. His accolades with the Dodgers would stack up with his Atlanta résumé — in one-third of the time.
