Freddie Freeman is in the midst of another All-Star caliber season for the Los Angeles Dodgers despite not putting up the kind of numbers that have become expected from him.
The 2020 National League MVP entered this week’s series against the New York Mets with a .284 batting average and .833 on-base plus slugging percentage — good production for most players, but below his career marks of .301 and .901, respectively.
Freeman said he is grateful that expectations are so high for him, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“The thing that makes me kind of smile is when people come up to me and say, ‘Oh, you’re not playing that well,” said the Dodgers first baseman, whose batting average has been below .300 for most of May and who went 26 games between home runs at one point. “I’m, ‘That’s still okay. Thank you for believing that there’s way more in there.’
“It’s nice that the bar is so high up here and that’s what everybody expects.”
Freeman admitted that he has been frustrated with his performance so far because he knows he is capable of doing more:
“Whenever you don’t play the way you think you can play, it’s always frustrating. There’s no way around it,” Freeman said.
Freeman appears to be trending in the right direction after a promising series against the Mets. He went a combined 5-for-8 with one double, one home run and three RBI in Tuesday’s doubleheader at Citi Field.
Even after going hitless in the series finale, Freeman is still hitting a solid .291/.396/.460 with 16 doubles, one triple, six home runs and 33 RBI over 255 plate appearances this season (58 games).
Freddie Freeman: Dodgers benefited from rainout
The Dodgers bounced back from a season-worst five-game losing streak by completing a sweep of the Mets. The three-game series was originally supposed to begin on Memorial Day, but was postponed due to inclement weather and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader.
Freeman believes the team benefited from the unexpected day off and saw it as an opportunity to reset.
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