Dodgers: Freddie Freeman on grief and the brotherhood of baseball

DENVER — Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman didn’t expect to be a grief counselor when he took the field for Opening Day in Denver against the Colorado Rockies. However, when José Iglesias made it to first base with the first single since the death of his father, Freeman discovered quickly he was exactly where he was supposed to be.

Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers discusses the emotional Opening Day moment he shared on the field with José Iglesias of the Colorado Rockies

The play happened in the second inning of what would eventually be a 5-3 Dodgers win. However, Iglesias, with his first hit as a member of the Rockies, drove in a run to give the home team a 2-0 lead.

When he reached first, he motioned to the heavens in honor of his father, Candelario, who played professional baseball in Cuba and passed away a few weeks ago. Iglesias said he didn’t expect the emotions of getting a hit without his dad watching to strike him so hard, but the tears came. Freeman heard from Iglesias about the emotions and shared a brief moment of compassion with him at first base.

The moment hit hard for Freeman, who still gets emotional talking about the death of his mother. In that moment, Freeman and Iglesias knew they were not only brothers in baseball, but brothers in overcoming a wave of grief, with Freeman saying, “there’s nothing harder than losing a parent.”

On Saturday, as Freeman prepared to take the field again, he reflected on the unexpected moment of shared grief on Friday.

“We’ll never know what any of us are going through in life,” Freeman said inside the Dodgers clubhouse. “I think it just kind of reminds you to just have some compassion, some humility, and just be kind to others. That’s what’s so special about baseball too is you get to be around so many great people and so many people that just care about and love the game of baseball. His father was shining down on him to be able to get that single.

“You never forget your dad. All I could do is give him a hug,” Freeman added. “You know, when you lose a parent, all you can do is just give that person a hug. There are no words. No word is really going to be enough. Just let that person know you care about him.”

Freeman smiled when he emphasized that he was glad to be exactly where he was supposed to be on Friday afternoon, and that was in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform playing a game in downtown Denver.

“There’s always a reason that I’m here where I need to be. I told you guys that when I first signed over here (Los Angeles), so that’s just one moment already that I’m supposed to be here and be a Dodger in this situation,” Freeman said. “I’m sure there will be many more that we can talk about as we go forward, but being at first base for José and that special moment for him, that was an Opening Day he and I will never forget.”

Freeman said that Friday was a reminder of the power of baseball’s fraternity supporting each other.

“We have different uniforms on, but you take the uniforms off and we’re all friends in this game. That’s the key. That’s the beauty of this sport,” Freeman said. “We all switch teams throughout our careers so you get to come across a lot of amazing people. From the looks of it, his family loves baseball just as much as we do, so I’m just glad to be able to be a part of anything I could do for him. “