Freeman Faces Former Braves as Dodgers Open NLDS at Home

Freddie Freeman will see familiar uniforms across the diamond on Saturday, but the Dodgers’ first baseman is treating the Braves as one more October obstacle. Los Angeles opens the National League Division Series against Atlanta at Dodger Stadium, giving Freeman his first postseason meeting with the club he represented from 2011 through 2021.

The split became real for Freeman on March 14, 2022, when Atlanta acquired Matt Olson from Oakland. Freeman had expected to remain a Brave for his whole career, and the departure was difficult at first. Five seasons later, he has built another legacy in Los Angeles while retaining his appreciation for the years spent in Atlanta.

“I understand it will be a storyline,” Freeman said. “But it is five years later. I’m not going to look at it differently. It’s another team I’m trying to beat on the way to another championship.”

Freeman, the 2020 National League MVP, has faced Atlanta 29 times during his Dodgers tenure. None of those games carried the weight of this series. His old club is now between Los Angeles and a return to the National League Championship Series.

Two first basemen, no hard feelings

The Freeman-Olson transition could have left lingering tension. Freeman watched his longtime job go to another player, while Olson arrived in his hometown to replace a franchise cornerstone. Instead, the two first basemen have built a genuine friendship and mutual respect. They have appeared together away from the field, including at a Morgan Wallen concert at Truist Park last year.

Freeman called Olson “a great guy and an unbelievable baseball player,” praising him as one of the game’s premier power hitters. He also admired Olson’s latest October statement: a 416-foot homer in the seventh inning of Atlanta’s 6-2 victory over Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Olson’s 329 home runs since the beginning of 2018 rank fifth among Major League hitters. His 41 homers this season also placed him in select Braves company. Only Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Ronald Acuña Jr. have recorded multiple 40-homer seasons for Atlanta; Aaron did it eight times, Mathews four and Acuña twice.

Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Olson entered a difficult situation when he took over at first base. “He was replacing an icon,” Weiss said. “I think we got the only guy who could do it, the only guy who could take that role at that time. Matt has been a superstar for us.”

The business behind the change

Atlanta’s last written proposal to Freeman was for five years and $135 million, an average annual value of $27 million. Freeman was 32 at the time. After the Olson trade, the Braves signed their new first baseman to an eight-year, $168 million contract, carrying a $21 million annual value as he prepared for his age-28 season.

The Braves believed Freeman still had elite years in front of him, but also trusted that Olson could match much of that output early in the deal and remain a top-level contributor as Freeman moved deeper into his 30s. Olson’s defensive work and left-handed power have supported that belief.

Freeman has the stronger offensive line over the past five seasons, along with two World Series rings. He is also the only player in Major League history with more than one walk-off home run in World Series play. Olson, though, has an October chance of his own now: lead Atlanta back to a championship.

Braves catcher Sean Murphy described Olson as the club’s captain, pointing to the everyday reliability behind the home-run totals. “He goes out there every single day and hits 40 home runs,” Murphy said. “We’re happy to have Matt Olson on our team.”

Saturday will put both men under the same postseason lights, each carrying the expectations of a different clubhouse. Freeman’s Atlanta chapter remains a major part of his career. This week, however, Olson owns first base for the Braves and Freeman is trying to send them home.