It wasn’t the most stunning October moment delivered by a gimpy Dodgers player in Chavez Ravine. That honor will always go to Kirk Gibson, who hobbled around the bases on two bum knees after his walk-off home run off Oakland Athletic closer Dennis Eckersley landed in the right-field pavilion in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
But it was up there.
After leading off the third inning of Saturday night’s National League Division Series-opening 7-5 victory over the the San Diego Padres with a single, Freddie Freeman — playing on a right ankle that was so severely sprained doctors told him “this is a four-to six-week [injured list] stint” — took off for second base.
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And he stole it, sending a jolt of energy and an extra dose of determination through a Dodgers dugout that had begun to find its footing after erasing a 3-0 first-inning deficit on Shohei Ohtani’s score-tying three-run home run in the second inning.
“We had a saying in 2020 when we won [the World Series], guys were going around saying, ‘Hey, I’m prepared to die out there today,’ ” Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. “Obviously, it’s metaphorical, but that’s kind of the mentality we’re taking again this year, like nothing should hold us back out there, and Freddie proved that tonight.
“He gets the hits, makes the plays, steals a bag, and it sends a message to our dugout that hey, it doesn’t matter what your name is, who you are, you better be willing to do whatever it takes to win this game. … It’s hard to put into words exactly what that meant to see Freddie doing that. It’s just really cool. It almost gives you chills.”
Freeman’s stolen base put him on second with no outs, and though he didn’t score in the inning, it gave the team hope that its 35-year-old first baseman and No. 3 hitter would be a factor in this series despite his injury, which he sustained trying to avoid a tag while running out a grounder in the Sept. 26 division-clinching win over San Diego.
Freeman lined a 109-mph single to right field in his first at-bat in the first inning. After his third-inning single to right, he grounded into a fielder’s choice during a three-run fourth inning, grounded out to first in the sixth and struck out in the eighth.
“When you see a guy like Freddie going through what he’s going through and making himself available to play, that speaks a lot,” said shortstop Miguel Rojas, who is playing with a left-adductor strain. “It pushed me to forget about everything that is going on with me, because I’m not even close to what he’s going through.
“Nobody in this clubhouse is 100%. We all understand that. But the fire and the fight from this team is unbelievable.”
When Rojas saw Freeman limping around the clubhouse early Saturday afternoon, he thought there was “no chance” Freeman would play.
“I thought he had like a 5% chance with how he looked when he got here,” Rojas said. “I don’t think anybody expected him to play. It was borderline a miracle.”
Freeman went through a workout on Friday but woke up so sore on Saturday that he told his 8-year-old son, Charlie, “I don’t know if Daddy is going to be able to play today.” Freeman arrived at Dodger Stadium at 10:45 a.m. and received several hours of treatment that reduced the swelling in his ankle.
Freeman went through his normal pregame workout on the field, and after hitting off a high-velocity pitching machine in the batting cage about 2½ hours before first pitch, he told manager Dave Roberts he felt good enough to play. That decision looked pretty good after Freeman’s sharp single in the first inning.
“That really helped with the feeling-out process,” Freeman said. “I felt good after my first at bat, so I knew I could do it.”
But good enough to steal a base? That seemed unfathomable to players and coaches in both dugouts, to Padres pitcher Dylan Cease and to just about everyone in a sellout crowd of 53,028.
“I think the stolen base was just pure luck,” Freeman said. “I leaned into Clayton [McCullough, first-base coach], and said, ‘What is [Cease’s time to the plate]? They know I have a sprained ankle, and I figured they didn’t think I was gonna steal. He said, ‘1.65 seconds.’ I said, ‘Can I go?’ And he goes, ‘Can you run?’ And I just took off.
“You know, 90 feet means a lot in this game, especially in the postseason. I know I took a big risk with how I’m feeling, but the opportunity presented itself, and I had to go for it. If I can’t play the game the right way, I shouldn’t be out there. So I was feeling good enough, adrenaline took over. But the adrenaline’s worn off now. I’m tired.”
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What did Roberts think when he saw Freeman take off for second?
“I was holding my breath,” he said. “And that crash landing, I wanted to make sure he was able to get up. Freddie, as a competitor, felt there was a chance to get into scoring position with nobody out. It’s a calculated play. I guess he was playing possum with everybody. But it’s just a heady play and a gutsy play. … He just willed himself into the lineup. He was certainly medicated.”
In addition to physical therapy sessions and extensive pregame treatments, pain-killers will be part of Freeman’s daily regimen for the rest of the postseason.
“Everything is doctor prescribed, whatever the doctors allow me to have, but yeah, there’s some help,” Freeman said. “Unfortunately, this probably might be how it is every day, but I think we have a good plan and approach.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.