The Los Angeles Dodgers went into the postseason as the No. 1 seed despite having their roster decimated by injuries, which included the likes of Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas needing to push through respective issues.
Freeman’s injuries were a hairline fracture in his right middle finger that was sustained in the middle of August. Then during the final week of the regular season, Freeman suffered a sprained right ankle and bone bruise.
That appeared to be significantly impacting the 35-year-old as he hobbled around and fell short of meeting expectations at the plate.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Freeman additionally played through a broken rib for the playoffs:
Unable to even pick himself off the floor, Freeman was helped into the X-ray room next to Los Angeles’ dugout. The results were inconclusive, and around 9:30 p.m., he received a call. The Dodgers wanted him to drive to Santa Monica for more imaging. He hopped in the car, then in an MRI tube. Around 11:30 p.m., the results arrived: Freeman had broken the costal cartilage in his sixth rib, an injury that typically sidelines players for months.
Freeman nor the Dodgers publicly revealed his rib injury that occurred while taking swings the day before the Dodgers began their National League Division Series matchup with the San Diego Padres.
Freeman was in the Dodgers lineup for the first three games of the series but then couldn’t play as the team faced elimination at Petco Park. Freeman returned for Game 5, going 1-for-3.
He missed two NL Championship Series games as well, presumed at the time to be because of the sprained ankle, but now attributed to both that and the rib issue.
How Freddie Freeman recovered for World Series
Because the Dodgers needed a Game 6 of the NLCS on Oct. 20, it ensured the start of the World Series was not moved up to earlier in the week.
Freeman didn’t play when the Dodgers clinched the pennant and thus wound up receiving five days off to rest his ailments. That proved key for the All-Star and he put together a remarkable World Series performance that earned him the Willie Mays MVP Award.
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