Tag: Freddie Freeman

Freddie Freeman Clubhouse unveiled at El Modena after star’s $500k donation to alma mater

El Modena’s new Freddie Freeman Clubhouse was unveiled after the Dodgers star donated $500,000 to his alma mater’s baseball program.

On MLB’s opening week ahead of the 2024 season, the alma mater of Los Angeles Dodgers star first baseman Freddie Freeman also got a new beginning.

El Modena High School (Orange, Calif.) unveiled its new Freddie Freeman Clubhouse, courtesy partly due to a $500,000 donation from the 2020 MVP to the program.

The 1,440-square-foot building includes a locker room, a team meeting area with monitors, a coaches’ office, and larger batting cages.

The Dodgers and Freeman posted pictures to Instagram, where you can see inside the locker room and the large mural of Freeman in El Modena’s Vanguard uniform. The mural includes a list of Freeman’s accolades, according to the Orange County Register.

 

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The project cost $1.6 million, according to the OC Register. Freeman’s donation of $500,000 was the largest in Orange Unified School District history from an individual private donor, the district said in the original press release, and was confirmed to the Register. The district covered $1.1 million.

Freeman played two seasons of varsity baseball for El Modena, according to MaxPreps. He was an elite batter and pitcher, hitting .417 with five home runs and 10 stolen bases while posting a 6-1 record on the mound with a 1.27 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 44 innings. A pitcher/third baseman, Freeman was named the Orange County Register’s 2007 Player of the Year. He was a second-round selection by the Atlanta Braves that summer.

El Modena went 14-12-1 last season after a 22-10 season the year before.

MLB fans can’t believe the Dodgers are on the brink of elimination vs. the surprising Diamondbacks

The Dodgers are on the brink.

Holy bad baseball, Batman. It’s ugly! Cover your eyes, Los Angeles Dodgers fans.

The Dodgers have a loaded roster filled with absolutely filthy baseball players. It’s hard not to like the talent they have: Clayton Kershaw, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Will Smith, and the list goes on. (Seriously, this team is unfair!)

The team has won ten division titles in a row dating back to 2013 and won a World Series in 2020. However, the Dodgers often cannot get out of their way. Meltdowns and the Dodgers are nearly synonymous.

For example, after winning a franchise-record 111 games, they were eliminated in the 2022 National League Division Series (NLDS) by the San Diego Padres, a team they went 14-5 against during the regular season.

It’s deja vu, as the Arizona Diamondbacks have surprised the Dodgers (we tried to tell you) and the baseball world in the 2023 NLDS with a commanding 2-0 lead as the series heads back to Arizona.

Dodgers and MLB fans expect greatness, but they’re all getting sadness. Rightfully so, they are tweeting through it, even though the Dodgers could still come back.

I am sending thoughts and good vibes and highlighting reels of better days to fans everywhere.

The 20 top selling MLB jerseys in 2023

Which player topped the list of MLB jersey sales in 2023?

When the calendar flips to October, it means one thing for many sports fans: playoff baseball.

Major League Baseball’s postseason is in full swing. It’s once again time for history to be written on the diamond and showcase the game’s biggest stars shining their brightest.

At the end of every regular season, the MLB releases the top-selling jerseys from that season.

Unsurprisingly, the list contains plenty of playoff contenders, a multitude of MVP candidates and simply some of the best baseball players on the planet

Check out the full list below, and grab a jersey to support your favorite player as the remaining lucky few march on towards the 2023 World Series.

Cameras captured Freddie Freeman’s perfect Jim Halpert reaction to Ronald Acuña Jr.’s home run

This should become a meme.

Freddie Freeman is just like us: Even though he and his Los Angeles Dodgers were facing fellow NL MVP candidate Ronald Acuna Jr. and the Atlanta Braves, he had to appreciate Acuna’s dinger like fans did.

Bally Sports cameras took a view from the outfield at Acuna’s home run, and they caught Freeman reacting. He crossed his arms, watched, then glanced, as if he was appreciating it and then maybe saying, “OK. We have work to do.”

I couldn’t love this more. And I kind of hope that it becomes a meme of some sort (internet, you’ve got work to do, go for it):

This is the comparison that nailed it:

Umpire camera footage on Freddie Freeman’s home run is the best of the season

Freddie Freeman sent this one flying and the camera angle was amazing!

If you want the best seat in the house to watch Dodgers star Freddie Freeman hit dingers, you would probably have to become an MLB umpire.

But that isn’t easy and you can’t get that kind of access without intense training, so thanks to modern technological developments, we now have access to the next best thing.

It’s officially known as UmpCam and we have seen the cool development used to illustrate how difficult it is to hit against ace pitchers like Spencer Strider. Fans, obviously, have loved it.

UmpCamp footage offered us a unique angle for this Freeman home run:

If you thought that looked cool, why don’t we try checking it out in slow motion?

That, my friends, is the only way to make this look more awesome:

UmpCam is an official collaboration with RF Wireless that uses a custom POV camera fitted for the umpire mask. It is similar to the NHL RefCam and the goal was to use the technology in “at least 15 broadcasts” this season.

ESPNU has even tried an alternative UmpCast for the College Baseball World Series.

We want more UmpCam as the season continues because it’s amazing.

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Mic’d up Freddie Freeman didn’t take the bait with his All-Star Game answer on Shohei Ohtani’s next team

Good answer.

The Shohei Ohtani trade buzz has begun. And that was very much top of mind for Seattle Mariners fans on Tuesday as their T-Mobile Park hosted the 2023 MLB All-Star Game.

But Freddie Freeman wouldn’t take the bait while being mic’d up during the game.

As Ohtani stepped up to the plate, fans chanted, “COME TO SEATTLE!” to the free-agent-to-be. FOX’s booth then asked Dodgers teammates Freeman and Mookie Betts if they wanted to start their own chant.

“That would be tampering,” Freeman replied. “I’m not doing any of that. I’m going to go with all 30 teams would want Shohei on their team.”

Well played, Freddie. Very smart.

MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis talks comps for Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews

Callis discussed MLB comparisons for two of LSU’s best players, Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes.

The college baseball season isn’t over yet, but it’s never too early to talk about the MLB draft and one of the many pastimes of draft experts: player comps.

Jim Callis discussed MLB comparisons of two of LSU’s best players, [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] and [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag], who are projected to be drafted No. 1 and No. 2 overall in the 2023 draft, respectively.

It has been stated by multiple coaches and analysts this year that Skenes reminds everyone of Stephen Strasburg, one of the best collegiate pitchers of all time. Strasburg’s final season at San Diego State was in 2009 and he finished that season with a 13-1 record, 1.32 ERA, 195 strikeouts, and 19 walks.

Skenes has an 11-2 record with a 1.90 ERA, 179 strikeouts, and 17 walks so far this season with at least one more start remaining as he will pitch against Kentucky in the Baton Rouge Super Regional this weekend.

As for Crews, Callis hasn’t found a great comp for his position. In terms of the production he could provide though, Callis compared him to Freddie Freeman, first baseman for the Dodgers.

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The Dodgers falling short of a World Series title would be one of the biggest letdowns in sports

After a historical season, anything less than a title would be a major disappointment.

It seems so long ago. In reality it was just a few months, April to be exact. I placed a bet on the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the 2022 World Series.

The bet wasn’t anything big, just a little action to stay invested in the baseball season. Then I proceeded to pay attention to every sport but baseball.

It was an informed bet, though. The Dodgers were just two years removed from a title and had the second-largest payroll in baseball (when has that ever mattered). I knew a lot of the names at just about every position: Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger, Trea Turner, Clayton Kershaw. And they even added Freddie Freeman, who helped beat them in last year’s NLCS.

Then, I got lost in the NBA playoffs, and NHL playoffs, a whole WNBA season, the NFL came back, and next thing you know my little bet was forgotten about… That is until now, 162 games later. The exciting MLB playoffs are finally upon us. And whaddya know, the Dodgers finished the year with the best record in baseball. They remain the favorites to be the last team standing with +300 odds at BetMGM. Now it’s time to finish the job.

LA has consistently been one of the best teams in the majors since 2013, winning the NL West nine out of 10 years, reaching the pennant in six years and winning it three times. This year marks the fourth time in that span the Dodgers have won more than 100 games, and they also had the best record in baseball in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Yet, all they have to show for all of that regular-season success is a single World Series championship.

Falling short this year wouldn’t just be a major letdown to my little, petty bet, it’ll be a major letdown to everyone involved. The Dodgers dominated this season and have by far the largest scoring margin in the majors (+334) to show for it. Their 111 wins are a franchise record and second-most in National League history behind the 1906 Cubs. That’s not a typo, they have the most wins in the NL since 1906!

Their pitching staff leads the majors in ERA and ranks fifth in strikeouts. Their offense leads the majors in runs batted in and ranks top five in batting average and home runs. They’re even second in FanGraphs’ defensive runs saved metric and ninth in stolen bases. This team literally doesn’t have a weakness. Which brings us back to the postseason.

The Dodgers’ NLDS opponent will be determined after the Wild Card round, which begins Friday. It might be the Mets (+700), it might be the Padres (+2800). No matter who it is, the Dodgers will be favored. And it won’t be enough for them to simply advance one round. They need to win a World Series this year, or all of those stats we just went over mean literally nothing. They only make this season — and my pockets — all the more disappointing.

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Freddie Freeman donates half million dollars to his HS baseball team

Dodgers star Freddie Freeman gave back to his roots, donating $500,000 to El Modena’s baseball team to help build a new clubhouse.

The El Modena High School (Orange,  Calif.) baseball clubhouse is getting a facelift courtesy of star alumnus Freddie Freeman.

The star Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman donated $500,000 to the team to put toward a new clubhouse. The $1.1 million project, scheduled to be finished in the summer of 2023, will feature a 1,440 square-foot area that includes a locker room, team meeting area, coach’s office and new batting cages, according to ABC7.

Freeman played two seasons of varsity baseball for El Modena, according to MaxPreps. He shined as a senior both at the plate and on the mound, hitting .417 with five home runs and 10 stolen bases while pitching to a 6-1 record with a 1.27 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 44 innings. A pitcher/third baseman, Freeman was named the Orange County Register’s 2007 Player of the Year. He was a second-round selection by the Atlanta Braves that summer.

He is among a handful of alumni from El Modena to play sports professionally. Others include Olympic runner Michael Terry, who competed in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and football player Jeff Spek, who played in the USFL for two seasons and NFL for one.

El Modena’s baseball team is on the rise. After three straight years of sub-.500 baseball, the Vanguards went 22-10 last season and reached the Final Four.

They will work to grow off that success this spring and then have the Freeman-funded facility ready to go for the following year.

Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner laughed after Mookie Betts took a 98 mph pitch off the butt

Walk it off!

Under normal circumstances, a star player getting hit with a 98 mph fastball in a rivalry game would be no laughing matter. It’s the kind of moment that could lead to lingering tensions in future meetings between the teams.

Mookie Betts’ eighth-inning at-bat against the Giants on Sunday seemed to be the exception to that rule. All you had to do was look at his teammates Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman to see why.

With Betts leading off the inning against Camilo Doval, the Dodgers star took a 98 mph pitch right off his butt. And almost immediately, that left leg appeared to go numb for Betts. He limped over to the on-deck circle where Turner and Freeman were there to … well … laugh at Mookie’s agony. Betts was obviously fine, so of course the star teammates all found the moment funny.

You can almost hear them telling Mookie to just walk it off. Poor guy. That still had to hurt.

Betts, as expected, remained in the game. And the Dodgers won, 7-4, to complete the four-game sweep of the Giants. That kind of chemistry seemed to be a big reason why.