Freddie Freeman Is LA's Heart & Soul, Anthony Volpe's Postseason Signature Moment
Plus, why a Shohei Ohtani signature moment is coming, stop giving that clown of a fan attention, and other observations from Game 4 of the World Series...
We have a lot to thank the New York Yankees for today. A hell of a lot, actually.
Firstly, thanks to their offensive explosion and 11-4 win in Game 4 on Tuesday night, we are guaranteed at least one more night of baseball. I think we can all be thankful for that.
Secondly, with the Yankees forcing a Game 5, things should get a little bit more compelling from here on out. Listen, I don’t think the World Series has been as much of a dud as some people have made it out to be, but it certainly hasn’t lived up to the lofty expectations we had going in given the sexy matchup of two of the most storied franchises on the planet going head-to-head. It also hasn’t matched the sheer excitement and drama of the previous rounds. Not even close.
But, with Gerrit Cole on the mound for the Yankees in Game 5 tonight, at least things should get a little more interesting now. Just imagine if this goes to a Game 6 in LA…
Anyway, the odds are still massively stacked against the Yankees, who still find themselves in a 3-1 hole. No team in the history of baseball has forced a Game 6 after being down 3-0 in the World Series. In winning Game 4, the Yankees became just the third team since 1970 to take the World Series to a Game 5 after being down 0-3. So, all in all, things still don’t look good for New York. And, let’s face it, if the Yankees were going to take at least one game in the World Series, it was always going to be the night the Dodgers decided to employ a bullpen game. With Jack Flaherty on the mound for Game 5, LA will be hoping to finish the job tonight and avoid a Game 6 back in LA.
Before we shift our focus over to another do-or-die game in the Bronx tonight, though, here are some observations I had from a Game 4 laced with a plethora of juicy storylines…
Heart & Soul
Forget Shohei Ohtani. Forget Mookie Betts. If the Dodgers go on to win the World Series - and they should given that they are up 3-1 - the story of their path to championship glory will be dominated by Freddie Freeman.
Man, oh man, what a legacy Freeman is carving out for himself.
Although it came in a loss for his team, Freeman’s first inning two-run home run was historic. It marked the veteran’s sixth consecutive World Series game with a homer, dating back to 2021 with the Braves, which set the all-time record. Freeman has now homered in every single game of this year’s World Series, including a walk-off grand slam in Game 1 which will be looked back upon as series-defining if LA can finish the job here.
Freeman is currently hitting .313 with a ridiculous 1.540 OPS in four World Series games. His 10 RBIs in this series also set a franchise record - passing Duke Snider (1952) and Gil Hodges (1956), who each had eight in seven games. So the level of production from Freeman in this year’s World Series is simply unprecedented. It has been crucial too given how much of a non-factor Shohei Ohtani has been through the first four games. However, despite that, the Dodgers haven’t missed a beat and that’s all down to Freeman.
What makes Freeman’s postseason heroics all the more impressive is that, like Ohtani, Freeman is also playing hurt. The first baseman has been ailed by a sprained ankle, an injury that forced him to miss a game in the NLCS. Not that you would know he is still dealing with that bum ankle, though. Freeman sprinted from first to third to put himself in position to score in Game 3, and he got down the line quickly to beat out a potential ground ball double play and bring home another run in Game 4.
Ohtani will always be the Dodgers’ leading man. He has star talent bestowed on him by the Baseball Gods. He can hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single year. He can pitch. Oh, and he’s super fun to watch. As is Mookie Betts. But, as we’ve seen throughout this postseason run, and especially in the World Series, Freeman is very much the heart and soul of this LA team. There isn’t anything remotely flashy about Freeman’s game, but he is able to come through in the biggest moments and he gets the little details right that make all the difference. Even when playing hurt, Freeman can still take over games and make a sizable impact. He has stepped up in the biggest way possible when his team has needed him the most, and he’s been setting the tone early with first inning home runs in both Games 3 and 4.
What Freeman is doing right now is truly special. And, if the Dodgers go on to win the World Series, then he will live on in LA lore forever as this team’s beating heart and relentless engine.
Step In The Right Direction
We saw some signs of life at the plate from Aaron Judge in Game 4. Finally. The slugger started to break out of his all-time postseason slump with a 1-for-3 night, contributing a run scored, one RBI, one stolen base and one walk. He also didn’t strike out for the first time in the World Series. Progress.
Furthermore, Judge showed a lot more discipline at the plate in Game 4 by laying off the breaking balls that acted as his kryptonite through the first three games of the World Series. He also nearly connected with a fastball that would likely have left the Bronx in a hurry. So, all in all, plenty of encouraging signs for the Yankees to hang their hat on heading into a win-or-go-home Game 5 on Wednesday night.
I wrote on Tuesday about how Judge’s entire legacy rested on a monster performance in Game 4. While we didn’t quite get that, Judge is clearly starting to get locked in and a gigantic home run or two in Game 5 to help force the series back to LA would certainly help atone for what has been a really disappointing postseason for the soon-to-be two-time AL MVP so far. It would also prove that Judge can get it done on the biggest stage when the lights are at their very brightest.
Anthony Volpe’s Fairytale Night For The Ages
The above image - taken directly from Derek Jeter’s official Twitter account - stood out to me for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it is just a great picture of the Yankees’ past and present at shortstop. A true Yankees great with a young player the organization hopes will turn into another franchise icon. Sure, Anthony Volpe has a hell of a long way to go to even get close to what Jeter was in the Bronx. Although what Volpe did in Game 4 was straight out of Mr November’s playbook. More on that in a minute.
Secondly, I love the fact that Volpe’s uniform is just caked in dirt and the overall spoils of war. And that’s what playing in a World Series should look like. Volpe gave his heart, soul and body to the Yankees in Game 4, something Jeter knows all about. You should be leaving it all out on the field at this stage of the season, and that’s exactly what Volpe did on Tuesday night.
The hometown kid, a lifelong Yankees fan who grew up dreaming of playing for the Yanks in a World Series in the Bronx, enjoyed a postseason breakout for the ages. Volpe injected some-much needed life back into both the Yankees and those inside Yankee Stadium with a monster third-inning grand slam. It was the ninth World Series grand slam hit by a Yankee, and the first since Tino Martinez slugged a grand salami in Game 1 of the 1998 Fall Classic.
Volpe’s fingerprints on Game 4 don’t stop there. The Yankees shortstop, who hopes to offer somewhere close to the level of production Jeter did at the position, also became the first player EVER in World Series history to record at least four RBIs and two stolen bases in a game. And all of that came after Volpe committed a real ugly baserunning blunder on an Austin Wells double earlier in the game. Talk about redemption. Pretty damn remarkable. And it is even more crazy when you consider that Babe Ruth never hit a World Series grand slam for the Yankees. Nor did Lou Gehrig. Not even Joe DiMaggio hit a grand slam in the World Series. But Volpe did, adding to a fairytale journey from being at the 2009 World Series parade as a fan to now manning the same position Jeter did in so many memorable October games.
Not even Hollywood could have scripted that.
Of course, this true fairytale moment won’t really matter in the grand scheme of things if the Yankees go quietly into that long goodnight on Wednesday. And Volpe knows that. In order to avoid that sobering reality, Volpe will have to really channel his idol in Jeter by carving out another signature postseason moment in Game 5. After all, Jeter built his entire legacy on October excellence, and Volpe will need to produce more heroics tonight if he wants to continue playing beyond Halloween. And if he wants to one day be mentioned in the same conversation as Jeter and other Yankees greats.
One moment in Game 4, no matter how special and dream-like it was, won’t be enough to guarantee any of the above.
Playing Hurt
Lost in the entire Aaron Judge discourse is the fact that Shohei Ohtani has been just as bad, if not worse, throughout the World Series so far. Ohtani does have a good excuse for his struggles, however. At least for the last two games anyway. Arguably the most talented player ever to grace the wonderful game of baseball with his jaw-dropping, stupefying, God-given abilities, Ohtani has been dealing with a left shoulder subluxation suffered late in Game 2 on Saturday.
Seen wearing a brace at times, Ohtani has grimaced an awful lot in the last two games. It is clear as day that the soon-to-be three-time MVP is not close to playing at full strength. He is currently hitting just .133/.278/.200/.478 through four World Series games with two hits, two walks, no home runs and no RBIs.
However, with that said, Ohtani did go 1-for-4 with an infield single in Game 4. And, unlike Judge, he is putting together some competitive at-bats and making solid contact. Granted, Ohtani is still 2-for-15 in the World Series. That’s not the kind of production you would expect from an uber-talented superstar.
There’s still time though. With the Yankees hoping to crank up the pressure on LA by forcing a Game 6, and with Gerrit Cole on the mound for the home team tonight, don’t be surprised if we see Ohtani deliver a signature moment or two in Game 5. Even hurt, the Dodgers star still has the superpowers needed to author something truly magical. I’d be shocked if we don’t at least get one signature moment from Ohtani before a World Series champion is crowned.
Give Me A Break
As if we need one, but want another telltale sign that the world has lost its freaking collective mind? Just check out some of the reactions to the bozo fan who tried to make himself the star of the show in Game 4.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Mookie Betts went to track down a fly ball in the first inning, leaping at the wall in foul territory to catch Gleyber Torres’ popup. However, a Yankees fan, and I won’t name him because he doesn’t deserve any more attention, decided to aggressively grab Betts’ glove with both hands in a truly boneheaded attempt to pry the ball out.
Now, if you watch the video of the incident, and make sure you watch a slowed down version too, you will start to feel your heart leap from your chest. It is clear to anyone with a brain that this clown could have seriously hurt Betts given how hard he was grabbing at the outfielder’s arm / hand. Give the video a couple of views and I’m sure, like me, you will come out amazed that Betts wasn’t seriously hurt by this absolute idiot.
What has been even more shocking, however, is how some notable media folks have decided to treat this fan like he’s some kind of cool hero. ESPN have published a story today, almost falling over themselves to praise the stupid actions of a clear moron. I mean, come on. Give me a freaking break. There was nothing cool or smart about what this nozzle did. Again, Betts was lucky he didn’t have his hand broken or seriously damaged. The fan was ejected and rightly so. I’m sorry, but he should be kicked out for the rest of the World Series. There’s stupid, and then there’s what that fan decided to do instead of cheering his team on in a game they couldn’t lose. Clown behavior.