Former Braves First Baseman Having Age-Defying Year For Dodgers

Former Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman has been killing it for the Los Angeles Dodgers this year. It's a very straight and to-the-point description, but there's no need to be flowery with it.

When you're in your age 35 season, you're supposedly to be past your prime. You can still be a solid contributor, but you're not expected to preform at this level. Freeman is leading the National League in batting average (.352), slugging percentage (.676), OPS (1.098) and OPS+ (208). It's even more impressive when you factor in that he missed 10 games with an injury.

"You don’t have to look any further than Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman for proof that turning 30 isn’t a career death sentence," USA Today's Bob Nightengale wrote on Sunday.

The 2023 World Series MVP is hoping to rewrite the narrative around aging in the game.

“I’m glad people can look at me and see that you can still do it later on," Freeman said, “but in my mind, age is just a number. I think if you take care of yourself, it doesn’t matter what your age is. I hope the age [narrative] gets thrown out the window because if you’re a good baseball player, you’re a good baseball player, it doesn’t matter what age you are."

His defense has been solid too. His .996 fielding percentage is the fourth best in MLB and his defensive runs saved of 1 is seventh. Don't expect him to win the Gold Glove though. The current Braves first baseman leads all first baseman with a DRS of 13. The overall clean gloves serves as a nice complement to the otherworldly bat.

Health is likely the only thing seperating him from being back in Atlanta among his old fans for the All-Star Game in July. He's likley going to be the starter too, and when his name is announced the roar from the audience could be louder than what the current Braves All-Stars will get.

As for the MVP, he's got to compete with his reigning MVP teammate, Shohei Ohtani for that. This level of performance sustained all season would earn him an finalist spot in the voting, but something would have to go wrong with Ohtani for him to earn his second MVP.

If anything, the fact that this can even be a conversation shows how gracefully he's aged. It bodes well for him as he continues to carve out his path to Cooperstown. Unfortunately for the Braves and Braves Country, this late-career success might mean a blank cap on his plaque is growing increasingly likely.

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