Former Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman is dominating in the World Series. He’s the clear frontrunner for the series MVP. However, his run is bringing some emotions from when he left Atlanta in free agency back into the fray.
It started when former Braves writer for The Athletic Jeff Schultz tweeted about Freeman’s fourth home run of the World Series Tuesday night.
“He’s too old.”
“He’ll slide.”
“He’s not worth the contract.”
While the tweet is vague at face value, the implications are pretty obvious. Letting Freeman walk was a mistake.
Someone quote tweeted him pointing out that Freeman chose to leave and somebody else tried to point out that Freeman’s agent was the reason.
This is pointing out a controversy that arose following Freeman’s first game back in Atlanta with the Dodgers. He fired his agent following that weekend series due to Freeman being unsatisfied with how his free agency panned out.
Reports included that his former agent handled it in a way that prevented Freeman from re-signing in Atlanta. The former agent has denied this.
That is where Chipper Jones jumped in.
“Agent works for him, not the other way around,” he said in a reply.
After the person he replied to showed him a screenshot from a Colin Cowherd piece discussing Freeman’s agent, Jones decided he wasn’t going to hear it. He defended the former agent and pointed out that Freeman could have stayed with the Braves if he wanted to.
He also took the opportunity to defend first baseman Matt Olson, who has been mostly rock solid as a successor to Freeman. He pointed out that everyone has selective memory of how they have treated the situation over the last two years.
Jones’ response has been modified for clarity with the original tweet embedded below. “No excuses….as a player, you play where you wanna play. [The] agent works for the player. Any miscommunication is the player’s fault. No deal is signed or rejected without the player’s consent. Period. But hey, I’m happy for Freddie. Things worked out for him in the long run and he and his family are happy in LA. So let it go and move on. When [Matt Olson] hit 50-plus [home runs] last year, never heard Freddie’s name. Now [Freeman] is showing off on America’s TV in the WS and people are bitter. [The] script could flip in 11 months, people. [Freeman] doesn’t play here anymore….[Olson] does. Be happy you still have a stud first baseman. Go Braves!”
