Anthony Rizzo, Freddie Freeman World Series warriors connected by one at-bat

LOS ANGELES – In their most famous previous game, Freddie Freeman went 4-for-4 with two singles, a double and a homer on April 28, 2021, and his Braves led Anthony Rizzo’s Cubs by 10.

Still, both — not just Freeman — were all smiles as with one out and one on in the seventh, Rizzo prepared to … wait for it … throw to Freeman.

Rizzo wanted the ball and this match to provide a light moment in a blowout. With the count 2-1, Freeman made one mistake, and that only further tickled both men – and everyone else watching. Could Rizzo actually shut down the reigning NL MVP, arguably the best pure hitter in the sport?

Rizzo threw a 60mph corner that broke slow, slower, slowest to the outside corner. Freeman flailed his arms in vain. A pair of premier 31-year-old left-handed first basemen with mutual respect erupted again as Freeman retreated to the dugout and Rizzo to first base as another position player, Matt Duffy, came in to pitch. On a disappointing Cubs team, Rizzo was soon headed to the Yankees at the trade deadline; Freeman on his way to a Braves championship and then a free agent who signed with the Dodgers that offseason.

The stakes are so much higher now – and that’s why they’ll actually meet. If this were April again… or May, or June, or July… they’d both be on the injured list. Rizzo still has fractures on the fourth and fifth fingers of his right hand which were suffered on the penultimate day of the regular season and kept him out of the Division Series. Freeman suffered a severe right ankle sprain on September 26, forcing him in and out of the Dodger lineup for two rounds.

Both noted the month and the significance of why they were in the lineup — each first, Rizzo sixth, Freeman third — and not on the IL when the 120th World Series began Friday night.

When I asked the other’s opinion, it was no surprise that Freeman started with another smile: “I’m still mad at him for taking me out.” When I wondered (joking, of course) if the Yankees were going to a bullpen game when he could expect Rizzo, Freeman joked, “He’s definitely coming after me. But he did say he’s done pitching because he wants to finish on top.”

Freeman turned serious and said, “We’ve been playing against each other for a long time. … You just become mutual friends and respect each other and how he handles their business. I mean, Anthony plays with two broken fingers. There’s a lot of guys dealing with injuries, and he’s obviously got some broken fingers, and he’s going out there and giving it his all.”

Rizzo offered: “I love (Freeman). I feel like Freddie and Paul Goldschmidt were the standard of (first basemen) I looked up to throughout my career. (Joey) Votto, (Albert) Pujols and Miggy Cabrera were older than us. … I see him staggering around and doing all the work, especially with everything he’s been through with his son, Max,” – 3-year-old Freeman, who was on a ventilator for a few days in July due to paralysis caused by a rare nerve disorder – ‘I’m sure that wasn’t easy for him and his wife. So there is just a lot of admiration for him.”

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The first time Rizzo (Padres) and Freeman (Braves) faced each other in the Majors was June 24, 2011 – the day after the Cavaliers took Kyrie Irving No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft – both picked fifth and played first . Later, Rizzo was the third-place hitter for the 2016 champion Cubs, Freeman was the second-place hitter for the 2021 champion Braves. Rizzo has had a career that puts a player in the Hall of Fame; Freeman is on his way to a plaque in Cooperstown.

And neither of them should actually be playing in this World Series. But of course they should. Because this is the World Series. Not April, May or June.

Rizzo reached base in eight of 16 at bats in the ALCS, but with only one extra base hit. Nevertheless, he maintained that he could draw strength even from the damaged fingers. The four-time Gold Glove winner, who also battled a chronic back problem, actually looked much more compromised defensively. Freeman has not been a good hitter in two rounds, with seven hits and six strikeouts in 32 at-bats (.219 average).

Freeman didn’t start Division Series Game 4 against the Padres and then faced neither lefty Jose Quintana nor Sean Manaea in NLCS Games 4 and 6 before four days off. Time to heal. Still, the only thing any of the Iron Men of this era promised was Game 1 – and then to see how he feels about left-handed Carlos Rodon in Game 2 and beyond.

This is now the battle for a few grizzled first basemen against age and pain. Less grin and more guts.

“If it’s June and you’re going through something that arguably needs a lot of rest, you’re doing yourself and the team a disservice in the long run,” Rizzo said. “A shorter-term sprint like this, with the adrenaline, the magnitude, you leave everything on the line, and then there are… months to heal in the offseason. With his ankle, with my hand, this is the dream: to play in the World Series. So if you can play, you play.”