The amount of times fans chanted his name after a decade-plus of jeers when he played for the visiting Atlanta Braves surprised Freddie.
"They chant every time I go up to bat, like I gotta do something special every time," he said with a laugh.
The chants came again in the bottom of the first when he faced his former team for the first time. This time, he lived up to their expectations, lining the second pitch he saw into the left-center-field gap and over the fence for his first home run as a member of the Dodgers.
Welcome to LA where the players play. pic.twitter.com/pps1QUGXFZ
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 19, 2022
A half hour earlier, he was on the field with his wife and three kids to receive the Silver Slugger Award he won last season. Braves manager Brian Snitker and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer helped develop him into one of the best hitters in the sport.
A video tribute was played for Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers' celebrated former closer, who was greeted by Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts, third baseman Justin Turner and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman with framed mementos from his first career save in the summer of 2010.
The Dodgers and Braves opened their three-game series on Monday with a rare, emotionally charged pair of two franchise icons who both signed free-agent contracts to join one another's teams last month.
After getting lost on his way to the visitors' locker room early in the afternoon, the converted catcher who saved 350 regular-season games in a dozen years with the Dodgers admitted that the excitement is definitely up for his return to L.A.
He won the World Series in the last of his 12 years with the Braves, but Freddie said his emotions were all over the place.
There is a lot of emotion going on right now, but there is also a lot of good emotion.
The Braves head athletic trainer George Poulis took a photo of the first person to see him when he stepped off the elevator.
"Oh, geez, I'm not ready," he said.
After visiting the Braves clubhouse, he passed around hugs. He met Snitker in his office. He saw that Alex Anthopoulos traded for Matt Olson, who was the replacement for Freddie, while he remained a free agent. The two got emotional as they spoke in the first- base dugout, so the rest of the conversation was moved inside and away from the cameras.
Anthopoulos was emotional when he spoke to the reporters the day after acquiring Olson. During his introductory news conference with the Dodgers, he angrily dismissed Anthopoulos' tears. The two spoke over the phone for three hours.
It was the end that I needed, because we spent so much time together over the last four years trying to win a World Series.
Two days after the Braves agreed to terms on a six-year, $162 million deal with the Dodgers' first baseman, the Dodgers' closer, Kenley Jansen, signed a one-year, $16 million contract with the Braves. The deal made matters more complicated for Jansen. The need to shed salary was necessitated by the fact that they were too close to the third tier of the luxury-tax threshold. The Braves came with an offer and needed a quick answer. It was taken by Jansen.
He was hit by the emotions of joining another team when he talked to Turner and Kershaw.
Growing up in baseball, playing for one team is like leaving your parents to go to college or whatever you want to call it.
When he spoke to the media at around 3:30 p.m., he had distributed 25 hugs and shed tears four times. There is a time and place. He hadn't seen them all since they took part in a parade. Rob Smith was wearing his World Series ring when he was told to take it off by Braves teammate and friend Freddie Freeman. He won't get his until late June when the Dodgers play the Braves on the road and he returns to Truist Park for another emotional series.
He was asked if Monday's game was the end.
I don't know if anyone is really looking for closure. I am just trying to move on. I had a lot of great memories with the Braves. That will always be there, I think.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
