When Freddie Freeman hit his 200th career home run on May 19th, it was a significant moment for one of the best hitters in baseball. Freeman is off to another incredible start this season, as he is producing a .317/.419/.577 slash line in the first third of 2019. In any other year, this production would make Freeman more of an early season MVP favorite, though he’s not getting as much buzz in this regard this year due to Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich.
This also is one of the best starts to a season Freeman has had in his career. While 2016 was the best of his career and followed up by a similarly-torrid 2017 cut short by a broken wrist, Freeman’s wRC+, OPS+, and wOBA measures are currently at higher levels than any he has finished with in the past. While he did experience a dip in his production after his return in 2017 that extended into 2018, it seems he has finally returned to full health and production this year.
There are many reasons Freeman has produced at such a consistently high level during his career. His production against right-handed pitching, his on-base ability, his power, and other skills are part of his outstanding offensive approach. However, one key ability has allowed Freeman to have one of the highest offensive floors in the game. It is his ability to hit left-handed pitching as a left-handed batter.
For his career, in 1,668 plate appearances. Freddie Freeman has produced a .272/.356/.447 slash line against southpaws. That is good for a .802 OPS. He has hit 53 home runs, has 212 RBI, and 397 hits. While those numbers overall may not be as good as right-handed hitters could produce in a platoon, they are still quite elite when it comes to left-handed batters.
Among active players, Freeman is one of only 15 left-handed batters who have 1,500 or more plate appearances against southpaws. Of that group, Freeman is second in OBP, SLG, and OPS, trailing only Joey Votto in each category. He currently is one of only four active players with an OPS of .800 or better in 1,000 or more plate appearances as a left-handed batter against lefties. The other three are Votto, Bryce Harper, and Charlie Blackmon. If you use a park- and league-adjusted metric like wRC+, Freeman’s 119 wRC+ in L-on-L matchups is second only to Votto’s (139); among active players with 1,000+ PAs. The threshold has to be lowered all the way down to 450 PAs to drop him into third place, due to the existence of Cody Bellinger (123 wRC+ against lefties).
A big reason for Freeman’s success comes when he puts the ball in play. Freddie Freeman has been in the majors since 2010. Over that time frame, Freeman has the second highest hard hit rate percentage among left-handed hitters with 1,000 or more plate appearances against lefties. The only player he trails is David Ortiz. In terms of that same group of players, Freeman has produced the highest line drive percentage in the majors since his debut.
Freeman’s production against southpaws is not just elite in terms of active players, it has been one of the best in the history of baseball. Freeman is one of only 24 players who has an OPS of .800 or higher in 1,600 or more plate appearances as a left-handed hitter versus left-handed pitching. Of those 24 players, 11 are in the Hall of Fame, while many others have received significant consideration. Freeman and Votto are the only active players included in this group.
While his overall statistics prove how special he is as a player, some of Freeman’s more memorable home runs have come versus left-handers.
As mentioned above, Freeman is likely at the mid-point of his career. He is currently 29, and will turn 30 in three months. Of active players with 5,000 or more career plate appearances, the same four players have the highest career marks in OPS, wRC+, and wOBA. While the ranking order is different based on the stat, those four players are Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Braun, and Votto. The fifth player in each of those categories is Freddie Freeman.
It is far too early to have a discussion regarding Freddie Freeman and the Hall of Fame. However, while he may not have the overwhelming counting stats to be a lock one day, his consistency will likely be his best argument. Three of the four guys mentioned in the previous paragraph arguably are three of the four (Mike Trout) active position players with the best chance of making the Hall of Fame (Braun not included for obvious reasons).
As a result, if Freddie can continue his elite level of play going forward, he will continue to validate the claim he is one of the best hitters in the game today. Furthermore, he could potentially begin to be discussed as one of the best left-handed hitters to ever play the game. Freeman’s overall skill as a player is remarkable to witness each and every night. However, it is his skill to hit southpaws on a historic level that could truly make him one of the greatest ever in time.