Freddie Freeman Undergoes Ankle Surgery After World Series MVP Performance
December 6 – Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman underwent surgery on his right ankle Thursday, an injury that didn’t stop him from leading the Dodgers to a World Series championship and earning the World Series MVP award.
The Dodgers announced that Freeman had the surgery, performed by Dr. Kenneth Jung in Los Angeles, to address “debridement and the removal of loose bodies” in the ankle. The team expects Freeman to be ready for baseball activities when spring training begins in February but did not provide a specific timeline for his return to game action. The Dodgers are set to face the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo on March 18 and 19 before opening the season at home on March 27 against the Detroit Tigers.
Freeman, 35, initially injured his ankle during a Sept. 25 game while running to first base, causing him to miss the final three games of the regular season. The injury lingered through the first two rounds of the playoffs against the San Diego Padres and New York Mets, forcing Freeman to sit out two games in the National League Championship Series, including the Game 6 finale. However, Freeman was a key contributor in the World Series, hitting a triple early in Game 1 and belting the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history, helping the Dodgers secure a 6-3 victory in 10 innings. He homered in each of the first four games of the series and finished with a .300 batting average (6-for-20), four home runs, and 12 RBIs, earning the MVP honors as the Dodgers claimed the title in five games.
Freeman, a career .300 hitter, has played 2,032 regular-season games, hitting 343 home runs and driving in 1,232 RBIs. He leads all active players in major league history in total bases (3,866), hits (2,267), doubles (508), and runs (1,298). The eight-time All-Star was named the National League MVP in 2020 for the Atlanta Braves, with whom he also won the 2021 World Series. Freeman joined the Dodgers as a free agent in 2022 after spending his first 12 seasons with the Braves.
