The Heart and Soul of a Franchise Shines Through
The New York Times
Freddie Freeman might have played his final game for Atlanta on Tuesday. Even if he did, he has already delivered on a promise he made to honor his mother.
HOUSTON — The friendliest man in baseball is a champion. Freddie Freeman, the Atlanta Braves’ slugger known for smiles, small talk and soft-serve ice cream, hit the last home run of the season and caught the throw from shortstop for the final out of the World Series. Nice guys finish first.
This is the life Freeman wanted — the baseball career, yes, but also the reputation he has earned along the way. He owed that much to his mother, Rosemary, who died of melanoma in 2000.
“He felt like, to honor his mom, he had to be a great kid,” his father, Fred Freeman, said on the Minute Maid Park infield late Tuesday night, after Atlanta finished off the Houston Astros, 7-0, in Game 6. “That was it. When he was 10, that’s what he decided he was going to be. He always said, ‘I know mom’s watching.’”
