Freeman Sets Aside Atlanta Past as Dodgers Host Braves in NLDS
The short version
- Freeman spent the first 12 seasons of his career with Atlanta before joining the Dodgers in 2022.
- The Dodgers open the NLDS at home after a first-round bye as the defending World Series champion.
- Atlanta won five of six regular-season meetings, including a three-game sweep in August.
- Freeman is managing a right knee issue that arose late in the season.
- Game 1 is Saturday, October 3, at 4:00 PM EDT at Dodger Stadium on FOX.
The 37-year-old first baseman spent 12 seasons with Atlanta, but his focus is on helping Los Angeles advance as the division series opens at Dodger Stadium.
When the National League Division Series begins, Freddie Freeman will look across the field at the organization that raised him as a professional. The Atlanta Braves turned him into one of the most recognizable players in club history, and now they stand between his Los Angeles Dodgers and the next round of the postseason. Freeman has little interest in treating the reunion as the week's biggest talking point.
Freeman, 37, broke into the majors with Atlanta, the club that selected him in the draft and brought him through its development system. He spent the next 12 years, the entire first act of his big-league career, in a Braves uniform before joining Los Angeles in 2022.
Once he departed, Atlanta filled the void by acquiring Matt Olson to handle first base. The changeover became one of the more consequential moves in the franchise's recent memory, and it now sets up a head-to-head playoff meeting between two men who play the same position for opposing clubs.
Freeman's years in Atlanta produced a lengthy list of honors. A 10-time All-Star, he claimed a Most Valuable Player award with the franchise and helped drive the Braves to the 2021 World Series championship in what proved to be his final season with the club.
Facing Atlanta will inevitably carry some personal meaning for a player who spent more than a decade in the organization. Freeman knows that history will surface throughout the buildup, yet his attention sits with Los Angeles and its October objectives. Once the games begin, his Braves resume will mean little on the field, and the objective is straightforward: push the Dodgers into the next round.
Los Angeles enters the series with built-in advantages. The club bypassed the opening round with a bye, secured home-field advantage for the division series and will open at Dodger Stadium as the defending World Series champion chasing another title.
The regular-season record between the clubs points in Atlanta's direction. The Braves took five of the six meetings, including a three-game sweep of Los Angeles in August, and they suppressed the Dodgers' offense across those games. The defending champions, in other words, carry concerns into the matchup that go well beyond Freeman's return.
Freeman is managing a right knee problem that arose late in the regular season. His output has been uneven at times, though he remains an essential piece of a lineup that also features Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy and Kyle Tucker. He heads into the division series looking to make his presence felt.
Game 1 of the series is scheduled for Saturday, October 3, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, with first pitch set for 4:00 PM EDT. The opener will be televised on FOX.
