Freddie Freeman moved a crowd of 48,178 at Dodger Stadium to its collective feet on Monday night before his first at-bat of a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The first baseman missed the team’s last eight games to be at the side of his son, Maximus, while the 3-year-old battled a rare neurological disorder that temporarily left him paralyzed.
Freeman stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the first inning with a rousing ovation as his soundtrack. He took off his batting helmet and tapped his heart in appreciation of the 45-second ovation in a moment proving that life is bigger than baseball.
Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman joined MLB Now on Tuesday morning and discussed one of the most powerful moments he has ever witnessed.
“Last night was the most moving thing I’ve seen at Dodger Stadium,” said Friedman. “That standing ovation he got from the 50,000 people, from the Dodger team, from the Philly team, just everyone to unite and agree on the outpouring of love and support for Freddie and Chelsea was awesome to see.”
Freeman finished the contest with one single and two strikeouts. However, his strikeout in the first was “pleasant” after fighting back the emotions brought on by the ovation.
“My dad was — I don’t know if I could call it crying, but he was choked up and teary-eyed — and that’s what really got me going,” Freeman said after the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
“It made it really hard to hit in that first at-bat, but that’s a good thing. I was OK with that. It was one of the most pleasant strikeouts I’ve had in my big league career.”
Max came home from Children’s Hospital of Orange County on Saturday after responding favorably to treatments for Guillain-Barré syndrome, a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves.
A positive postgame text from his wife allowed Freeman to breathe easier.
“To be honest, it was OK during this game,” Freeman said when asked if his mind had wandered throughout the evening. “I think it’s more because I know Max is at home, and he’s OK. … We’ve been told [Max] is going to make a full recovery. We just don’t know how long it’s going to be. But the prognosis of recovery is good.”
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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