Freddie Freeman Wins 2020 National League MVP Award

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ATLANTA – Almost a decade after picking up his phone to hear Chipper Jones say, ‘I think it’s about time we started dating,’ Freddie Freeman can now compare the MVP Awards with the Hall of Fellow third baseman. Fame. Freeman was named the National League MVP when the poll results were

ATLANTA – Almost a decade after picking up her phone to hear Chipper Jones say, “I think it’s time we started dating” Freddie freeman can now compare the MVP Awards with the Hall of Fame third baseman.

Freeman was named the National League’s MVP when the poll results were announced Thursday night. The 31-year-old first baseman became the first Braves player to win an MVP Award since Jones in 1999.

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“I don’t think anyone can dream of winning an MVP,” Freeman said. “As a kid you just dreamed of being on TV one day, like the guys you watch. For it to come like that, it’s just amazing. I had good years in the past. This year it all came together from start to finish.

Freeman won his first NL MVP Award after finishing in the top 10 in the poll four times previously. It received 28 of the 30 first-place votes cast by some members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Mookie Betts of the Dodgers and Manny Machado of the Padres were the other finalists for the award.

Moments after the results were announced, Jones posted a tweet congratulating Freeman and challenging him to earn the honor next year. The two have shared a strong friendship over the past decade. Freeman’s first two full seasons with the Braves were Jones’ final two seasons.

As Freeman received congratulatory messages from Jones, 2006 NL MVP Ryan Howard, Dan Uggla and several of his other baseball friends, he was at home in California surrounded by family. He shared a heartfelt hug with his father, Fred, whose parenting responsibilities widened when Freddie’s mother died of melanoma when he was just 10 years old.

Freeman suffered another emotional loss in March when his grandmother passed away.

“It has been a difficult year for the Freeman family, as it started with the loss of my grandmother,” Freeman said. “But I have a few angels up there. I think they really helped me get through this season and win this award.

Braves Designated Hitter Marcell Ozuna drew two votes in third place and finished sixth in the poll. Ozuna scored one of the NL’s best 18 homers as he spent the season at bat behind Freeman, who hit .341 with 13 homers and 1.102 OPS in the 60-game regular season.

Freeman led the Majors with 51 points scored and was second in the NL on batting average (0.341), base percentage (0.462), slugging percentage (0.640), OPS (1.102) and wRC + (187 ). The only player to finish ahead of him in each of those five categories was the Nationals’ Juan Soto, who recorded just 196 home plate appearances, 66 behind Freeman.

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Freeman tilted his cap at Ozuna, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Travis d’Arnaud – teammates who produced around him in the lineup.

“[Ozuna] is the reason I’m here, ”Freeman said. “He was behind me and Ronald was in front of me. I had damage around me. Having a right-left-right arrangement, with the three hitter rule, it’s really hard to bring in a southpaw, especially with Arnaud in fourth and the way he swung it this year. I just had more chances to do damage. It’s because of Ronald, Marcell and Travis.

As Freeman produced a 3.4 MLB fWAR, he distanced himself from the fear he received on July 2, when he tested positive for COVID-19. He prayed, “Please don’t take me,” after his fever reached 104.5 degrees.

Freeman, who lost eight pounds during his illness, joined the team’s summer camp practices six days before the start of the regular season. He crammed about 30 plaque appearances over four days of intrasquad and exhibition games, then accepted the challenge to face the Mets’ Jacob deGrom on opening day.

Freeman spent the first few weeks regaining his timing and strength. In his first 15 games, he hit .200 with two homers and a .713 OPS. He then responded by hitting .384 with 11 home runs and an MLB best 1,220 OPS from August 9 to the end of the season.

“It’s really amazing,” Freeman said. “To take a step back and see how my first two weeks started, I was just trying to play so well so fast. I think I wondered too much when I was only five days old [to prepare]. But I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t try to do this. It just took me a few weeks.

Freeman joins Jones, Terry pendleton (1991) and Dale murphy (1982 and 1983) as Braves players to win the NL MVP Award since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966. Hank Aaron (1957) and Bob Elliott (1947) are the other franchise winners.

“I went to dinner with Ryan Howard about a week ago,” Freeman said, “and he said,“ When you put those initials [MVP] after your name, that changes everything. “

Mark Bowman has covered the Braves for MLB.com since 2001.



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