Oh, man, I'm so nervous for this. I don't know why I'm so nervous for this. I brought my notes. My guy Freddie Freeman is here, Freddy, Freddy Man, Oh there he is number five.
Have you been sitting in this corner all day?
Yes, I wanted to. I should have brought a lava lamp.
You know we have some of the kids now taking it back to when I was a kid.
Right right? Everything retro is current again, Freddy.
I like it. Yeah, yeah, I'm retro.
You're retrore retro.
Thank god, you look good.
Yamamoto said I need to lose weight. Do you feel like I've gained a lot of weight this off season?
Freddy? No, way, he said that he did. He did?
He said, ah, you know, a little bit, a little bit too much.
Then why would he say that.
I feel like I have. I'm projecting and I know I have. But I'm not taking any medical or pharmaceutical shortcuts, Freddy.
No, I am not going to answer those questions about weight. Just not going to do that. I think you look great.
Did you know?
Gavin Stone announced to us his birthdays on October fifteenth. He's a guy that likes to promote his birthday. Would you think Gavin Stone was that type of guy?
No, I know, I didn't know. He talked very much.
I know exactly.
It was depressing when he said there were a lot of mosquitoes in Arkansas. I said, who would have guessed that?
October fifteenth? Huh, Yeah, all right, it's good to know.
Great segue.
By the way, October fifteenth, nineteen eighty eight, was the day Kirk Gibson hit his walk off home run and Game one.
Of the world. Now, I understand why you brought up Gavin Stone's birthday. Well, I mean, you're good at this.
This was lined up perfectly.
It was meant to be, like Freddie Freeman was meant to be at the plate that night, in that moment.
That was a good one. Yeah, so let me to talk about it.
I'm nervous, so that's why I brought I felt like Chris Farley here, just like you know, I feel like I'm more emotional about it.
Was October, I didn't. Mine wasn't October.
No, it wasn't. But that's when Gibson hit his Yours was a different date. You hit it in the same same area section.
I heard it was like the same time.
Yeah, they might put like a blue seat where you hit it, like where they did for Kirk Gibson.
Oh, that'd be kind of cool.
It would, yeah, in infamy.
Yeah, I believe me. I've thought about it every day pretty much.
I mean, when you go to the grocery store, what's it like.
I really can't go anywhere right now, which is which is fun because you know that sports in general can it just means so much to some two people. And obviously as I'm out in the community and I I don't think I've made it through one outing without someone coming up to me, which is really cool that people care so much and care about the Dodgers and and what that home run. I just did a luncheon and I there's a guy that had a tattoo of me on his leg.
So geez, that's when you know it means something.
Yeah, And then obviously a lot of other people are coming up at the luncheon saying how much that home run meant in the World Series and telling us where it was. One guy was there for Kirk Gibson's home run. So it's to hear people like like when you you went and you're out there and then you go home and you got to get ready for the next game. But then, like I've told people, like about a month ago, Charlie and I went down a rabbit hole on YouTube because he wanted and.
With YouTube, right yeah.
And just to see all the reactions and how it affected people in such a positive way, it's it does bring chills to you. And to be able to be a part of that and to deliver because I mean just and how like I watched the video later on and how they panned out over the stadium Joe Davis is talking, and how the whole thing was set up.
It it's like giving me kind of goosebumps right now when you when you look back at it and think about it, and to be able to come through in those kind of moments, I mean, that's what you dream about, you know, just like how Joe said, it is what you think about in backyards. I mean, it's the same thing that I was doing with my two brothers when we were playing with the balls in our front yard.
Our backyard wasn't pick enough what we did in the front yard, and and and for to happen again, like but in a big League game thirty years later when
I was playing football with my brothers. It's it's incredible and like Joe Davis and how he set that whole thing up was you know, obviously I didn't know anything about it until I watched it and I was like, wow, you know, Joe was incredible and to hit it on the head and then after he sets the whole thing up to do it on the first pitch, it was like, I think that made it that, you know, like how I mean, it would have been awesome if it was like the twelfth pick too, but after he set that
up to happen immediately, that's but the Yeah, the grocery store things kind of out. Yeah, I don't really.
Try and you're going to the grocery store.
Kind have been out of a lot of things with the surgery. So but uh, yeah, I believe me. I think I have if I when I'm out, there's no lesson at least if it's just a like I'll go to Jan's Health Bar. It's in Orange County and I get a smoothie there, and I don't think I've made it out of Jans without taking pictures or anything like that. And that's hop years. Oh, Chris, I haven't been there. We did Mastros the other day and one of the chefs comes out and he's got a Dodger hat on.
So yeah, I don't think. I don't. I can't go anywhere right now. But that's a good thing because that means really good things happened.
Freddie, you and your wife also had a little vacation together.
Yeah, deservedly so. And I'll just out myself right now.
I zoomed in on your right foot, yeah, to see if you had a boot on or sandals I've had.
I had some interesting sandals. I didn't pick any of those outfits. I think everyone knows that, man. Yeah, I just whatever is in the bag and what I'm told to wear, I wear. Yeah. So we did that a couple of weeks ago. It was it was planned because our ten year anniversary was in November. A little busy to have much time to plan. Uh, So we kind of waited through the holidays and we did Mexico for a ten year anniversary. So we had a good time. Obviously,
our family's been through a lot. Max is doing better, So we just needed a we just needed a week, you know, just to relax because you I mean, you know, you're married, and so when when you have kids, you're just trying to get You're doing everything with your kids every single day, and it's nice to be able to reconnect and you know, just sit there and hang out with your wife, and you know, we had a great time. It was a great week. We came home and it's right back into the week. We got home in the
door and they just started crying. Someone was hitting each other, and I was just like, yeah, I'm sure we should have stayed longer, but it was a great time. Where But now it's back to you know, getting ready for the season again.
How do you feel physically?
I mean, obviously we knew about the ankle, but you know, the ribs and all that stuff. Yeah, how does is Freddy Freeman like tape together right now?
To be here? I'm two of the injuries or one hundred percent. My broken fingers all good, my broken ribs all good. I am two months, eight weeks as of two days ago Thursday, out of surgery. And that was the first day I hit. So I hit for the first time. Two days ago, I felt good. I hit again yesterday, felt good again. Still not clear to run, but two days ago was a big day for me because if I wasn't able to respawn like I did yesterday,
I think we would have been in trouble. Being able to be ready by Tokyo it was a good sign. I feel good today with back to back days of hitting, so I would have been able to hit today if but it was you know, scheduled days off and Monday I worked. I did four sets of seven and tes the last two days, so twenty eight swings and on Monday,
I will it goes into flips too. So I think I will be full bore hitting by by the time probably spring training, when I get the spring training, because I'm going to stay here this whole next week and be doing my PTE down in Orange County for a whole nother week and then I'll get the spring training. So I think hitting wise, I'll be ready to roll. I'll be able to hit, batting practice, do all that.
But I start doing I think by the end of next week some side to side stuff, you know, like movement, and then being able to do uh you know, then I'll be a running progression in spring training. So I will probably not be playing the first couple of games of spring training. As you guys probably know I'll get antsy and try and force my way into somehow. You know, I'll just DH, yeah, have one, so I'll just no,
I'll just dh. We don't have a DH, so right and then, but the beauty of spring training is I'll be able to even a show he's playing in the real games, I can go into the backfield and get at bat, so I will be able to I think, be able to hit and see some live abs and then hopefully the running progression. I feel good, you know, that's it's all about how I feel. So but I'm in a good spot going into I was, you know, it was a little up and down. I was a little nervous how I was going to feel a couple
of days ago. But ultimately I am feeling pretty good right now.
Freddie, I know you have to go, but I'm just curious.
The day of Game one of the World Series, Yes, when you got out of that day and put your your right foot down and just started to get yourself going, did you know, did you feel like, oh, wow, I feel a lot better than I did even five days ago.
I was feeling pretty good two days going into that. I had still not run since game five of the NLCS because then we had the day off, and then I didn't play game six. Hi, Brandon, who are you Randon going? I go? So I hadn't run, but I was feeling good walking and and doing all that. But the first time I ran, like I told you guys, I ran when we did the introduction was the first time I took more than a walk and I was running out there. I was like, oh, I actually feel
pretty good. And as I was coming down the line, all the trainers like, Freddie, you look great, and I was like, I know, I feel pretty good, and but I was feeling good. My swing was like I said, I have I called my dad like two days before game one. I said, Dad, I figured it out, and I mean as as my dad had said yeah. He was all and he was like, yeah, I didn't think you figured it out, and he goes, I watched you
play in the Mets series and you were awful. So he was like, I was just hoping that you were being honest, and I did. I felt really good. I got my foot in a spot where I could actually have some strength into the ground, and I felt like my swing was in a good spot. So I was feeling good swing wise. I just didn't know how my ankle was gonna hold up. And my ribs were feeling pretty good by then. My finger was feeling pretty good
by then. But you just didn't know. And I'm you know, a lot of people go, I can't believe you had to run out a triple in the first in your first step bat and actually said, no, that was actually a good thing because I was able to do that and get up and I was like, oh, I'm okay. So it was almost like a weight was able to come off my shoulders when I knew I was able to run those bases and get up and not be like, oh man, my ankle's killing me. I got a limp now.
I never limped once in the World Series. I felt good. We had a great treatment plan going, and that's why I thought after the World Series it was like, oh, just rest and you know, do some PT and I'll be good to go. But three weeks after the World Series end, I was I'm like, something's not right, you know, like my ankle still hurts. And so I was in Atlanta for Thanksgiving doing it with all our family there,
and I texted Thomas our head trainer. I was like, I think it's time to get this thing looked at. It's just not that I can't get the swelling out. And so when I came home from Atlanta, that's when we got the MRI. And I got the MRI, I go up and look in there, like you need surgery? Wait a second, what? And so that's the how that hold because I was feeling great during the World Series. So that's why I was like, oh, I'll just heal
bit some time. That's why I know. I've been asked the question of why did you wait so long after the World Series and I was like, well, I've just played the World Series and felt pretty good, so I thought, just some rest. And so that was the reason of why it was about four weeks after that I had surgery, because I was like, I just wasn't getting better. So
but luckily we got it done and it wasn't. I had tore some ligaments too in my ankle, but that had healed enough in those weeks after the World Series that I didn't have to thankfully get those fixed, because if I had to repair those, I probably wouldn't have been able to make it to Tokyo, which would have been a more extensive rehab, so a lot of being
good actually happened. So we cleaned up the ankle and I'm feeling pretty good and hopefully the running progression like it's going to start next week and I have no setbacks. I think everyone that knows me, I'll probably just tell everyone that I don't have any setbacks and I feel great. Yeah, I feel great, but I'm in a good spot, way better. My ankle's feeling better each day, more work on it every day, and it's and it's responding really well. So I feel like I'm in a good spot to be
able to make it to Tokyo in six weeks. I can't believe it's already happening.
I know, I can't believe it even such a short office.
But a good reason why. Sure, it's sweet, right, definitely, definitely.
It'll be great, Freddie, when you're on that third baseline and you get your ring and you'll get to feel everything that the fans deserve to give you that day, I.
Know, getting here and you know, seeing all these fans and the excitement. I just can't wait to get the ring and just to experience spring training and the excitement I mean, you saw our ownership group went out and did it again this offseason, and I think that's why fans are so excited, because you know, the hard working fans, they come and support us, spend the money here, and to see the organization that you're support supporting us, spending your money on is going right back into the the
product that is awesome to see. And I think that's why everyone. I mean, obviously we have great players, but to go out there and see the ownership you're into, you're out go out and try and put the best
team on the field. I think that's why everyone there's such a buzz around here, and I think we're all hungry to try and be the first team in twenty five years to do this back to back, you know, since the Yankees, and it's incredibly hard to do obviously, but I think we've put ourselves in a good spot to be able to go out there and do it.
And we got to get us a little bit healthy, and yeah, some of us didn't need this, We needed an extra month, but I think we're gonna be ready to go and try and start this journey again.
Freddie, it was truly an honor and a privilege to watch your journey last year and the way it ended. Like I told you so many times, I think the game in bigger picture life rewarded you, Freddie, because you're a champion of a person, even before all of that, and I mean everything that you and Chelsea went through and how strong Maximus was and just who you are. I mean, honestly, what a great journey. And man, I feel like I need ankle certainty after everything you just said.
Yeah, but I appreciate those kind where it's and my family's doing good. Maximus is doing well, and we'll get the spring training and I'm sure Chelsea will share some pictures and he's he's still not walking completely normal, but he's so close. And if you would have told us five months ago that he would have been where he is now, we would have been ecstatic. And he's doing great. If you walk into the house and you saw him on the couch, you would know nothing is wrong. He's
still a joy, he's still fun. He's starting to run more. So once we get that strength back into his left it's his left leg. Once he gets that strengthen his left leg, he was gonna be flying around the bases you'll see him after on Sunday's basis.
Yeah, and so.
We're looking forward to it. We're looking forward to getting back out in spring training, getting this thing going.
That's awesome.
Yeah, thank you, David.
Freddie great to see you.
Oh man, it's been awesome, truly your privileged, really Freddy, to be around you and just to see the way you live your life and the way you go about things.
It really is awesome. Man, World Series MVP.
I mean cool.
I mean thirty years from now, I'll be hosting. Let's look back at the twenty twenty four.
Being a walker. I might be in the walk there.
There, Freddy seventeen surgery.
Hopefully I'll lose weight by that, right, Freddy.
No, I'm not infering that, Freddy. David.
I love you to Freddy. Freddie Freeman the World Series MVP, A champion to the people.