Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman homers in first at-bat vs. former team
from Adam Stites, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
Freddie Freeman played 12 seasons with the Atlanta Braves, earning five All-Star nods and NL MVP honors in 2020. On Monday, he faced his former team for the first time since signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers and promptly hit a home run in his first at-bat.
Freeman, 32, signed a six-year, $162 million contract with the Dodgers in March, about five months after helping lead the Braves to a win over the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. On Monday, he blasted the second pitch he saw over the fence to notch his first home run as a member of the Dodgers.
FIRST HOMER AS A DODGER? FREDDIE, SET, GO. pic.twitter.com/w0cEUXCtiG
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 19, 2022
According to ESPN Stats and Info, it’s only the third time in MLB history that a former MVP hit a home run in his first at-bat against his former team. The others were Alex Rodriguez against the Texas Rangers and Frank Thomas against the Chicago White Sox.
While Freeman didn’t have any home runs through his first nine games with the Dodgers, he was still batting .324 entering Monday night with three doubles and four runs batted in.
Freeman hit 271 home runs in his career with the Braves, including a career-best 38 during the 2019 season.