Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Freddie Freeman had one heck of a season in 2023. At the age of 34, he completed possibly the best season of his career, and that's saying a lot.
Freeman finished third place in NL MVP voting behind current teammate Mookie Betts and former teammate and winner of the award, Ronald Acuña Jr. His 2023 was sensational, though. In 161 games, he slashed .331/.410/.567 with a .976 OPS. He also tallied 29 home runs, 102 RBIs — his most since 2019 — and a career-high 23 stolen bases.
He might've won the award in any other season, but Acuña's stolen bases were the difference in this race. Acuña stole 73 bases, the most in modern-day baseball. Freddie's 23 stolen bases were also impressive; however, they were all to second base.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with that, but Freddie expressed how he wants that to change — specifically, how he wants to steal third base at least once until he decides to call it quits.
“The one thing I really want to do is steal third base," Freeman said. "I’ve yet to try that and succeed. So I’ve been trying, I’ve been trying to talk myself into it the last couple of years.”
It may not look like it, but Freeman is fast for his size and isn't afraid to show off his speed when needed. The new bags and the limit to pickoffs made a massive difference in the game, and it showed all season long. It benefited the offenses, and the increase in stolen bases shows this.
Freddie has one known goal we know of now, and I'm sure he is motivated to get it done as soon as he can, especially as he gets older. That doesn't mean his skills are fading, but his wheels might.
Hopefully, he can get it done before calling it quits.
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