Atlanta Braves: Freddie Freeman Heading For A Banner Year
By W. M. Lawson
The Atlanta Braves’ First Baseman, Freddie Freeman, is off to one of the best starts of his career. If he can stay healthy, 2017 could be a career defining season.
You don’t have to look far, or ponder deeply, to figure out who the face of the franchise is for the Atlanta Braves. Freddie Freeman, the ebullient and free-wheeling First Baseman, has been the mainstay and go-to for the the Braves for years now. He has produced at a higher level than anyone else, and has provided leadership in a vacuum. Still, 2017 is shaping up to be his best year yet.
Freeman’s career number are impressive enough. In his first six seasons in the MLB, and including one month in 2017, they are as follows (2010 he only played in 20 games): BA-.290, OBP-.376, SLUG-.493, OPS-.896, HR-148, RBI-531. As our friends from the Midwest would say…not too shabby.
2017, however, seems a little different. Freeman has been almost un-pitchable, and has actually been a terror on the base pads. A First Baseman who hits for average, and power, and steals bases.
His numbers from the first month, or so, of this year are ridiculous. He’s hitting .378 with 10 HRs and 16 RBI. That low RBI number is an indictment of the top of the order that struggled early in the season. Freeman also has four stolen bases.
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Because of those numbers, Freeman has been in the “Player of the Month” conversation of late, and rightfully so. He’s top-5 in the NL in batting average, WAR, and HR. He’s 11th in fielding, due to one error in April. He’ll tell you that one is too many, but Freeman is black hole at first. Not much goes by him, and the one error he did have was on a poor throw to First that he had to dig. In short, he’s been remarkable.
The MLB baseball season is a long, tenuous, and arduous one. It requires fitness, patience, and luck for your body hold up over 162 games. To date, Freeman has only played one season to completion (meaning all 162 games) . But for the most part, he’s played more than 145 games a year.
This 2017 Atlanta Braves team is better than in recent years. They are certainly more competitive day in and day out. Freeman is a big part of that.
The new stadium is exciting. Matt Kemp, Ender Inciarte, Brandon Phillips, and Nick Markakis are fun to watch, and a breath of fresh air for oxygen deprived fans these last few years. But Freeman is special, and he’s playing at a special level.
Next: Atlanta Braves: Time to Let Emilio Bonifacio Go
Pay attention Braves’ fans. It won’t last forever. Get it while it’s good. Get it while it’s great.