Freddie Freeman was out of the Braves lineup Friday, a day after his wife Chelsea gave birth to the couple’s first child, a boy named Frederick Charles Freeman II.
Freeman had told Braves interim manager Brian Snitker earlier in the week that he planned to play the day after she gave birth, but Snitker said he texted the first baseman Friday morning and told him to stay away for a day to rest and be with his wife.
“I don’t know that he slept last night,” said Snitker, who expects Freeman to be back in the lineup Saturday. “The baby’s here, everybody’s doing good, but I understand it wasn’t an easy go. (Freeman) needs to regroup, so I texted him, you probably need as much rest as your wife does, after everything she went through. She did all the work obviously. Just glad everybody’s doing good.”
Chelsea Freeman posted a picture of the smiling parents and baby — whom they are calling “Charlie” — Thursday night on Instagram and wrote: “24+ hours of active labor, epidural at 8-9cm dilated and 3 hours of intense pushing in every position possible and this little guy wouldn’t flip (he was sunny side up) or budge past my pelvic bones. Ended up in emergency c-section after exhausting every other option. Not how I wanted my labor to go, but he is healthy and perfect!!”
Snitker said, “Freddie told me the other day he’d be ready to play next day. But I think a little more transpired than what they thought. He needs rest. It won’t do him any good to come here half-asleep, worried about his wife being alright and all that kind of stuff. He’s the kind of guy that wants to come and play. I mean, you can’t get him out of there ever.”
In other baby news, Braves catcher Anthony Recker rejoined the team on Friday after missing two games to be with his wife in Arizona, following the birth of their second child.
