Freddie Freeman

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Freddie Freeman
Atlanta Braves – No. 5
First baseman
Born: (1989-09-12) September 12, 1989
Fountain Valley, California
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 1, 2010 for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics
(through 2013 season)
Batting average .285
Home runs 68
Runs batted in 280
Teams

Career highlights and awards

Frederick Charles "Freddie" Freeman (born September 12, 1989) is a Canadian-American[1] professional baseball first baseman with the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball.

Professional career

Freeman was drafted by the Braves in the second round (78th overall) of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft, out of El Modena High School. He was the Braves' fifth-best prospect heading into the 2009 season, according to Baseball America,[2] and the 11th-best prospect overall in their midseason top 25.[3]

Major Leagues

Freeman was called up to the Braves on September 1, 2010, as part of the team's September call-ups, and made his major league debut that same day. On September 5, 2010 he got his first career hit off of Florida Marlins pitcher Clay Hensley, and on September 21, 2010, he hit his first home run off of Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay. Freeman was not a part of the Braves' playoff roster.[4]

Freeman began the 2011 season as the starting first baseman for the Braves. After a slow start, his performance improved and he had been mentioned as a strong candidate for rookie of the year.[5] On July 4, 2011, Freeman hit two home runs against the Colorado Rockies, for his first multi-home run game.[6] Freeman was the first Braves rookie to reach 50 RBIs by July 18 since Hank Aaron accomplished this feat in 1954.[7] He was the named NL rookie of the month for July; during that month, Freeman led all Major League rookies with 38 hits, a .362 batting average, and a.433 on-base percentage in July 27 games. He also led all NL rookies with six homers and 17 runs. His 18 RBIs tied for the most in the NL among rookies.[8]

In August, Freeman and Dan Uggla became the first members of the Braves to have concurrent twenty game hitting streaks in the modern era.[9] Freeman's streak ended at 20 games on August 7.[10][11]

Freeman finished second to teammate Craig Kimbrel in the NL Rookie of the Year balloting.[12] Kimbrel and Freeman were the first teammates to finish first and second since 1989, when the Chicago Cubs’ Jerome Walton and Dwight Smith came in first and second.[13] The only other time two Braves finished in the top five, the organization was still located in Milwaukee—Gene Conley was voted third-best rookie of the 1954 season; Hank Aaron came in fourth.[13]

In 2013, Freeman was selected as a finalist for the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Final Vote, where he won with record-setting total of 19.7 million fan votes, but was unable to play because of a thumb injury suffered 3 days prior to the game. [14] Freeman finished the 2013 season with a .319 batting average, along with 23 homers and 109 RBI's. On February 4, 2014 Freeman agreed to an eight year, $135 million extension.[15][16]

References

  1. ↑ "Freeman looking to play for Canada at WBC". Rogers Communications. Retrieved 24 July 2013. 
  2. ↑ Ballew, Bill (December 15, 2008). "Atlanta Braves top 10 prospects". Baseballamerica.com. Retrieved September 2, 2010. 
  3. ↑ "Midseason Top 25 Prospects". Baseballamerica.com. July 9, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2010. 
  4. ↑ "Derek Lowe to start Game 1 for Braves". Sports.espn.go.com. October 5, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2011. 
  5. ↑ "Braves have keeper in Freddie Freeman". Espn.go.com. July 27, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2011. 
  6. ↑ By Mark Bowman / MLB.com. "Prospect Freeman gets called to The Show". Atlanta.braves.mlb.com. Retrieved September 2, 2010. 
  7. ↑ 8:18 pm July 19, 2011, by David O'Brien (July 19, 2011). "Freeman gets 50 RBIs as quickly as rook named Hank". Blogs.ajc.com. Retrieved November 15, 2011. 
  8. ↑ "Freeman named NL's top rookie for July". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved November 15, 2011. 
  9. ↑ "Uggla, Freeman both push hit streaks forward". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved November 15, 2011. 
  10. ↑ 1:10 PM ET, August 7, 2011Citi Field, New York, NY  (August 7, 2011). "Dan Uggla's hit streak at 28 as Braves edge injury-stricken Mets". Espn.go.com. Retrieved November 15, 2011. 
  11. ↑ "Streak ends, but Freeman's focus on winning". Atlanta.braves.mlb.com. Retrieved November 15, 2011. 
  12. ↑ "Official site of the Baseball Writers' Assn. of America". BBWAA.com. Retrieved November 15, 2011. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 2:09 pm November 14, 2011, by David O'Brien. "Kimbrel wins NL Rookie of Year, Freeman runner-up | Atlanta Braves". Blogs.ajc.com. Retrieved November 15, 2011. 
  14. ↑ "Freeman, Delabar win All-Star spots". ESPN.com. Retrieved 12 July 2013. 
  15. ↑ "Braves extend Freddie Freeman". ESPN.com. February 4, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014. 
  16. ↑ Bowman, Mark (February 4, 2014). "Freeman, Heyward sign; $130M for first baseman?". MLB.com. Retrieved February 4, 2014. 

External links

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