MIAMI, FL – SEPTEMBER 22: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves during the game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park on September 22, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)
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The Atlanta Braves have already survived one difficult postseason test, and now they face another, with one of their most familiar opponents. After eliminating the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Wild Card Series, Atlanta is attempting to get through defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series.
The matchup brings another layer of history not just because the Braves and Dodgers have faced each other frequently in recent postseason series, but also because Dodgers superstar Freddie Freeman is finally facing his former organization in a playoff matchup.
“Freddie Freeman’s assumption that he would spend his entire career with Atlanta ended on March 14, 2022, the day the Braves acquired Matt Olson from the A’s,” Matt Bowman reported for MLB.com. “It was an awkward and initially painful separation for the man who had been the Braves’ everyday first baseman from 2011-2021.”
Freeman’s departure ultimately led him to Los Angeles, where he signed a six-year, $162 million contract and became a central piece of the Dodgers’ championship pursuit. Now, five years after leaving Atlanta, he is preparing to stand in the Braves’ way of a deeper postseason run.
Former Atlanta Braves Star Freddie Freeman Addresses Los Angeles Dodgers Postseason Storyline
The Dodgers and Braves have repeatedly been among the National League’s top teams over the past three decades, producing several memorable postseason matchups. Freeman is now a unique part of that history after winning a World Series with both franchises.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves have a couple of things in common over the last 30 years,” as Fox Sports put it. “One commonality is star first baseman Freddie Freeman, who has played for and won a World Series with both the Dodgers and Braves. Meanwhile, a recurring theme is the two teams being good at the same time and meeting in the postseason.”
This series will mark the first time Freeman faces Atlanta in October since leaving the organization. But despite the obvious storyline, he only offered a cold and calculated message about what the matchup means to him.
“I understand it will be a storyline,” Freeman told Bowman. “But it is five years later. I’m not going to try and look at it any differently. It’s another team that I’m trying to get through to win another championship.”
Any dissapointment Freeman might have felt upon his departure from the Braves appears to be water under the bridge. Now, his former home is simply the next obstacle standing between the Dodgers and another World Series.
Atlanta Braves Face Los Angeles Dodgers Veteran Freddie Freeman In High-Stakes NLDS
For Atlanta, the challenge will be finding a way to slow a Dodgers lineup featuring Freeman alongside stars such as Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts, while contending with a star-studded rotation.
Freeman, meanwhile, has continued to build his legacy away from Atlanta. The Dodgers’ six-year deal represented a major commitment when he arrived in 2022, and he has since become one of the defining veterans of their championship-era roster.
Now the Braves must attempt to eliminate the player who helped them win their 2021 World Series before becoming one of their most prominent what-if stories.
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