NEW YORK – Freddie Freeman was the focus of a half-page story in The New York Times on Wednesday, in which he was called the next Met Killer following in the footsteps of retired Braves great Chipper Jones. He was also called a “natural” by former Mets pitcher and current broadcaster Ron Darling.
Freeman being Freeman, he wasn’t aware of the story, and went back to playing cards with teammates after he found out, rather than look it up online or ask a clubhouse attendant to bring him a copy of the paper.
“I had no idea. That’s pretty cool,” he said, sounding quite unconvincing when he said it was pretty cool.
Not that he doesn’t appreciate the respect of his peers, past and present. Freeman certainly does. Of Darling’s comment, he said, “That was nice of him,” and said that in a tone that made it clear he meant it.
It’s just that the amiable Freeman doesn’t much care about getting attention, and seems more comfortable being a sidebar rather than the feature story. Actually, he’d probably prefer not being a story at all, though he is entirely cooperative with reporters who approach him with interview requests.
The fact is, for the forseeable future he’s the main Braves feature for out-of-town media, as the focal point and most feared hitter in a lineup otherwise made up of mostly complementary pieces, young players still establishing themselves, or past-their-prime former lineup regulars now in part-time roles – with the notable exception of Nick Markakis, the longtime former Oriole who’s an accomplished hitter but not a big power guy.
Not like Freeman, who hit 86 homers in his first four full seasons, slugged .501 in his first All-Star season in 2013, and had four homers and a .560 slugging percentage entering Wednesday night’s game against the Mets.
“Obviously I don’t really pay attention to it,” Freeman said, meaning he was oblivious to the Times story Wednesday, like he is to most anything else written about him. “I have no idea. I just kind of look past that. You just can’t really get caught up in that kind of stuff, but if you get caught up in that kind of stuff you might too much pressure on yourself.
“You’ve just got to put that away and go out there and stick to your approach, stick to your plan, no matter who’s on the mound or who you’re playing. Just stick to your same routine.”
The focus of the Times story was Freeman’s career-long success against the Mets. It isn’t quite on a par with the damage that Jones regularly did against them, particularly at old Shea Stadium and in so many important games or with games on the line. But Freeman’s resume against the Mets is quite impressive, particularly given that is still just 25.
He entered Wednesday with a .303 career average, 24 doubles, 14 homers and 60 RBIs in 76 games against the Mets, with a .375 OBP and .535 slugging percentage.
“We haven’t gotten him out in four years,” Mets manager Terry Collins told the Times.
Said Darling: “He’s a natural. It doesn’t matter how good you are, or how you try to pitch a guy; some guys are just so talented that the scouting reports are unnecessary. They’re circumstance. Those guys are right ahead of your curve. Whatever it is, they’re ahead of it.”
Former Braves hitting coach Greg Walker said Freeman was the lowest-maintenance young hitter he’d ever worked with, and said that Freeman’s swing and approach were so simple that he would fix it himself when he got into a funk, and usually fix it quickly, eliminating any long slumps.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said Wednesday, “He’s about as simple a hitter as I’ve been around. He’s just, put your foot down and go. See the ball and go. Sometimes it gets him in trouble, because if you go back and look at some of the video, he’s swinging at stuff that far (a foot) out and up. But (so what), he squares it up.”
