LOS ANGELES — Freddie Freeman took his youngest son in his arms and held him tight, placing kisses on 3-year-old Maximus’ blond head. The slugger’s wife, Chelsea, gathered their two other sons for a family photo on the field at Dodger Stadium, where Dad had just created an indelible moment in baseball history.

Three months earlier, Freddie and Chelsea were at Max’s bedside in hospital as he fought for his life after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Max survived and thrived – and he was able to watch over his father make World Series history Friday night for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Freeman is still recovering from a severely sprained right ankle, but he had no trouble getting around the bases after hitting his grand slam in the 10th inning to win Game 1 of the World Series against the Yankees. After celebrating with his teammates, he looked even more agile as he ran and jumped toward the screen behind home plate to happily celebrate with his father.

“It didn’t feel like anything, just kind of floating,” a beaming Freeman said.

“These are the kinds of things, when you’re 5 years old with your two older brothers and you’re playing wiffle ball in the backyard, these are the scenarios you dream about – two outs, bases loaded in a World Series game , “He added. “For that to actually happen and we hit a home run and come away to give ourselves a 1-0 lead, that’s as good as it gets.”

After everything the eight-time All-Star has endured since mid-summer, it’s clear that nothing will stop Freeman this year from giving everything he has, both to his sport and to his family .

“He does something that is fundamentally heroic to put himself in position to play,” Dodgers playoff hero Kiké Hernández said. “Freddie is a grinder. There aren’t many working superstars like Freddie. He’s a Hall of Famer and this is a special moment in his career.

Freeman missed eight games with the Dodgers in July and August after Max fell ill while watching his father at the All-Star Game festivities in Texas.

When the family returned home, Max was hospitalized and put on a ventilator after suffering partial paralysis and difficulty breathing. He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré, a rare neurological disease that affects the immune system, nerves and muscles.

Max’s condition gradually improved and Freeman returned to work on August 5. He didn’t hide his tears before or after receiving a standing ovation from Dodgers fans who understood the depth of his distress.

Freeman then broke his right middle finger less than two weeks after his return, and he collapsed while trying to play with his injury before manager Dave Roberts persuaded him to sit out a series in late August for reset his body.

Max Freeman returned to Chavez Ravine in September to watch the Dodgers down the stretch. The youth is expected to make a full recovery, Freeman said.

Through it all, Freeman produced another stellar season at first base and at the plate, hitting .282 with an .854 OPS, 22 home runs, 89 RBIs and 4.7 WAR.

But Freeman seriously injured his ankle on September 26 during the Dodgers’ regular-season home finale. The Dodgers acknowledged that the severity of the sprain would have kept most players out for several weeks during the regular season, but Freeman is determined to get it out of the way if possible – because it’s October.

He missed three playoff games, including two of the last three against the Mets in the NLCS. The Dodgers still wonreaching the World Series for the first time in Freeman’s three years at home in his native Southern California.

“There were a few times where we had to go to Freddie and say, ‘Hey, you gotta let this one go,’” slugger Max Muncy said. “We have you tonight. You need to rest. If you know Freddie, this is a difficult conversation to have. But he knows what’s best for the team, and now he feels good enough to do what he did tonight.

After nearly a week of rest and treatment, Freeman said his ankle “felt pretty good” before the opener against the Yankees.

He showed it in the first inning when he hit a triple – his first since June 1 – with help from Juan Soto who misread his drive down the right field line.

Freeman is only the third player in baseball history to hit a grand slam and a triple in a playoff game. Kaz Matsui, who did it in the 2007 NLDS, is the only other player to accomplish this feat since 1920.

In the sixth inning, Freeman watched in awe, arms crossed, as Giancarlo Stanton’s mammoth homer flew deep into the left-field stands for New York.

But 36 years after another veteran Dodgers slugger hit a home run ending Game 1 of the World Series and limped around the bases in a frenzied Chavez Ravine, Freeman made the same hobbled jog amid the deafening din of Christmas celebrations. october.

Kirk Gibson created one of the most iconic moments in Dodgers history in 1988. Freeman’s blast was eerily similar, even landing in nearly the same part of the stands at Dodger Stadium – complete with brake lights fans leaving early visible in parking lots beyond.

Muncy hit his own game-ending World Series home run in the 18th inning of the Dodgers’ win over the Boston Red Sox in 2018, although it was Los Angeles’ only victory in the series.

“When I hit mine, you kind of passed out at that point,” Muncy said. “With this one, I was able to see the reactions. Feel the ground shake. I was next to Dave, but as soon as (Freeman) hit him, I threw my bat.

Freeman’s home run will be immortalized in Cooperstown: he agreed to donate his cleats to the Baseball Hall of Fame – but only after the World Series was over.

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AP MLB:

Greg Beacham, Associated Press