Los Angeles heading into the World Series Dodgers star Freddie Freeman was apparently suffering from a serious ankle injury. What we didn’t know was that he also suffered a serious rib injury.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN:

A day later, on October 4, Freeman retreated to the batting cage at Dodger Stadium after finishing a press conference in which he announced that he was ready to play despite his ankle injury. He wanted to swing a little as he prepared for a live batting practice session. His side tingled with each of his first dozen strokes. In the 13th inning, Freeman felt a tremor in his body and collapsed to the ground.

Unable to even lift himself off the floor, Freeman was helped into the x-ray room next to the Los Angeles shelter. The results were inconclusive and he received a call around 9.30pm. The Dodgers wanted him to travel to Santa Monica for more viewing. He jumped into the car and then into the MRI tube. Around 11:30 p.m., the results came back: Freeman had fractured the rib cartilage in his sixth rib; this was an injury that often sidelined players for months.

Even though Freeman had difficulty breathing at the time, he managed to play at the Fall Classic and made history along the way. His 12 RBIs in the Series are the most by any Dodger playing in a World Series and are tied for the most of any player in any World Series. The Dodgers beat the Yankees 4-1 in the series.

Freeman won the World Series MVP Award, becoming one of the few players to win the World Series MVP Award and league MVP in the same career.

He hit the walk-off grand slam in Game 1 and then hit the mark again in Games 2, 3 and 4. He went 1-for-4 in Game 5.

This was the second World Series title for Freeman, who also won the championship with the Atlanta Braves in 2021.

Freeman, 35, hit .282 with 22 homers and 89 RBIs in the regular season. He is one of the most productive players of the last decade, a lifetime .300 hitter with 343 home runs.

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