Freddie Freeman plays with a heavy heart every June 13.
And every June 13 he delivers.
Freeman’s mother, Rosemary, died from melanoma June 13, 2000. (It’s the reason he plays with long sleeves, even on the hottest of summer days.)
He is 9-for-25 with a double, a triple (on Thursday), three home runs and 8 RBI for the day.
“It’s still tough to play,” Freeman told Fox Sports South after the game. “It makes me want to do even better than I want to do, on this day, because I know she’s watching ... especially today.”
Freddie was just 4 years old when his mother was first diagnosed with melanoma. She initially fought off the skin cancer without developing any debilitating symptoms. Nearly five years later, it claimed her life.
"When my mom was sick in the hospital, baseball and other sports were two hours of inconvenience. We just wanted to be with her," Freeman said in 2017. "She was the one who made us want to do sports."
Freeman has the date inscribed in his cleats as a daily reminder to keep doing her proud.
