{"id":7069,"date":"2024-11-07T07:49:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T07:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotnews.azontree.com\/?p=7069"},"modified":"2024-11-07T07:49:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T07:49:00","slug":"dodgers-freddie-freemans-painful-path-to-world-series-mvp-honors-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotnews.azontree.com\/?p=7069","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman\u2019s Painful Path to World Series MVP Honors Revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Oct 31, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) celebrates with the Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player Award after being name MVP of the 2024 MLB World Series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images \/ Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Freddie Freeman can finally breathe or at least try.<\/p>\n

It turns out that the Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman and World Series MVP played with more than a severely sprained ankle.\u00a0Jeff Passan of ESPN\u00a0reported on Thursday that Freeman had also broken the costal cartilage in his sixth rib.<\/p>\n

Nothing was going to stop Freeman from playing in the postseason, not even an injury that should have sidelined him for months. His father, Fred, worried as he watched his son in physical pain.<\/p>\n

“I actually told him to stop,”\u00a0Fred told Passan. “I said, ‘Freddie, this is not worth it. I know you love baseball. I love baseball. But it’s not worth what you’re going through.’ And he looked at me like I was crazy, and he said, ‘Dad, I’m never going to stop.'”<\/p>\n

Not only did Freeman continue to play through the pain, he put on one of the best postseason performances in franchise history.<\/p>\n

Freeman started Game 1 of the Division Series against San Diego without publicly divulging his broken rib cartilage. His presence in the lineup was enough. San Diego had no idea of the pain Freeman endured with each swing of his compact, powerful left-handed bat. His right ankle felt like it might give out at any moment, and each missed pitch sent a sharp, silent ache through his side.<\/p>\n

“It only hurts when I miss,”\u00a0Freeman told his father. “So I’m just going to have to stop missing.”<\/p>\n

In the series opener, Freeman, with his core wrapped in kinesiology tape for stability, delivered two singles. His limp hinted at an ankle issue, drawing attention away from his real pain source: his rib. After four painful misses at the plate, his symptoms worsened as Los Angeles claimed Game 1 but then lost the next two to the Padres.<\/p>\n

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