Freddie Freeman began the 2025 season looking like a potential MVP candidate for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
From the beginning of the year to the end of May, Freeman hit .374/.440/.638 with nine home runs and a 195 wRC+ over 200 plate appearances.
But things started to go south for him after that. From June through the All-Star break in mid-July, Freeman hit only .203/.269/.280 with one home run and a 54 wRC+ across 156 plate appearances.
But shortly after the ALl-Star break, Freeman had a friend send him a picture that helped unlock his swing.
The meme had an overlay of Freeman hitting the walk-off grand slam in the World Series last year, and it provided a visual fix for Freeman by focusing more on his right ankle.
Since coming out of the All-Star break, Freeman has been elite once again, hitting .319/.418/.511 with two home runs and a 164 wRC+ in 55 plate appearances. But recently, he hasn’t been relying on those adjustments he made with his ankle and cue.
“I haven’t been thinking about that at all,” Freeman said after the Dodgers’ win agains the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. “I’m just swinging it and hitting it. There’s no cue or anything right now. We’re not going to try and figure it out, we’re going to try and keep riding it.”
Freeman has gotten to a state of feeling more comfortable, which has allowed him to just step in the box and swing the bat without thinking much about his mechanics or anything else.
“I was trying to get more in my front side two weeks ago, and now I’m not even thinking about that,” Freeman said. “So I don’t know if I’m in my front side more or not. I’m just on time a couple times today and the last few days. I feel good, seeing the ball well, been taking some pitches, working a couple walks, getting deeper in counts, hitting the pitches I need to hit.
“I wish I could give you guys, ‘This is exactly what I’m doing,’ like I did a couple weeks ago. But the last few days it’s just been in the box and on time.”
The results have been showing up even more for Freeman now. In the last seven days, he’s hit .350/.435/.700 with two home runs and a 214 wRC+ across 23 plate appearances.
“It’s definitely nice,” Freeman said of no longer overthinking things. “I feel like I’ve been grinding for six, seven weeks now.
“I’ve been throwing singles out there but there’s been no damage, no balls the opposite way. So it was nice to see that in Cincinnati. Nice to get through an off day and not lose it.
“Those were two cutters that I pulled, and still missing some pitches, but obviously I’m trending in a great direction right now.”
Freddie Freeman trending up
Freeman connected for a solo home run that put the Dodgers up 5-0 against the Rays on Friday, which raised his batting average back up to .300 for the first time since July 8.
It fell back down in his next at-bat, but the 35-year-old is still hitting .299/.372/.481 with 12 home runs, 59 RBI, 53 runs scored and a 137 wRC+.
Freeman went 1-for-2 with two walks against the Rays in the series opener.
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