Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Freddie Freeman, who left the Atlanta Braves during the offseason and signed a lucrative six-year deal, made sure his former team knew what it’s missing.
After hitting a home run for the Braves in his last plate appearance with them, he then proceeded to homer in his first plate appearance with his new team against Atlanta.
That, as you can imagine, is pretty rare.
“Homered in final PA *with* team AND THEN first PA *against* that team, expansion era (since 1961, including PS): Freddie Freeman, Braves; Andrelton Simmons, Braves; Lloyd Moseby, Blue Jays; Jay Johnstone, White Sox h/t @EliasSports,” MLB.com’s Sarah Langs tweeted.
Homered in final PA *with* team AND THEN first PA *against* that team, expansion era (since 1961, including PS):
Freddie Freeman, Braves
Andrelton Simmons, Braves
Lloyd Moseby, Blue Jays
Jay Johnstone, White Soxh/t @EliasSports
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 19, 2022
A Rare Feat Indeed
What Freeman just did has been done just four times since 1961, so yes, it’s not that common.
He took Huascar Ynoa deep in the bottom of the first inning, as the crowd in Dodger Stadium went absolutely crazy.
Freeman is off to a great start for his Dodgers tenure.
Through Monday, he is hitting .325/.404/.475 with a homer, eight runs scored, and five RBI.
Even at 32, when he is, theoretically at least, starting to end his prime, Freeman remains a game-changing talent offensively.
Last season, he hit 31 homers, and a .300 average.
He got on base at a .393 clip and slugged .503.
Perhaps most importantly, he scored 120 runs, an impressive feat given that is the objective of the game.
He also drove in 83, and in the playoffs, during the most difficult pitching matchups, he hit five more homers to make sure the Braves won their first World Series since 1995.
The Dodgers hope he can remain that productive for most of their six-year commitment with them.
He is off to a promising start.
NEXT: Freddie Freeman Accepted An Award Alongside Some Familiar Faces