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Freddie Freeman finally received the national recognition he’s been deserving for years now. The type of recognition Braves Country has showered him with for basically his whole career. The Braves first baseman beat out Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts & Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. for the award. With this award, Freddie became the fifth Braves player to win the MVP Award. The other four: Chipper Jones, Terry Pendleton, Hank Aaron, & Dale Murphy.
This is Freddie’s fourth top-five finish in MVP voting in his career.
During his MVP campaign Freddie overcame a shortened regular season with no spring training immediately before Opening Day, & his own battle with COVID-19; a battle he said he wasn’t sure he was going to win when it was at it’s worst.
In adversity like the multiple obstacles 2020 threw at Freddie and Major League Baseball is exactly when Braves fans have grown accustomed to looking toward Freeman to be the team’s constant, the one player you can depend on every day, no matter how dreary the outlook appeared. For years, Freddie has been a victim of his own success. During his 10-year MLB career Freeman has had:
-Five 90+ RBI seasons (2 of which eclipsed 100)
-Seven 20+ homerun seasons (2 of which eclipsed 30)
-Five seasons with a batting average of .300 or better
-Eight seasons with an OBP above .350
-Six seasons in which he slugged over .500
-Four All-Star selections
-Two Silver Slugger Awards
-One Gold Glove Award
2020 wasn’t anything out of the ordinary or overly special relative to most other seasons turned in by Freddie Freeman. It just happened to be the season he turned heads across the country. Probably due to the deprivation MLB fans experienced due to COVID-19, leading to fans trying to soak in as much baseball as possible for fear of it being ripped away again with every positive test.
Freddie Freeman: 2020 National League Most Valuable Player.
The Daily Braves 