Braves' Player Recap: Freddie Freeman

The second Braves' recap today will continue with first baseman Freddie Freeman.
Freeman was orignally drafted by the Braves and he made his major league debut in 2010. His first ever home run came a few days after his debut, he hit it against Phillies ace Roy Halladay. He finished runner-up to teammate Craig Kimbrel for the Rookie of the Year last season, after he batted .282 and hit 21 home runs.
Freeman was a big part of the Braves again this year. Unfortunately he had a few down parts to his season. He suffered through two freak injuries, one where Jose Reyes of the Miami Marlins threw a ball to first and hit Freeman in the hand. Freeman was trying to break up a double play and his fingers were jammed when the ball hit him. The other one was when he got dry eyes after a west coast trip. He tried eye drops and sports goggles, but his eye for the ball was obviously hindered. That brought on another problem as Freeman's average fell to only .259.
Freeman was stellar most of the season though, his defense was great, he is one of the best fielding first baseman in the league. He also hit more home runs and drove in more runs than last season. One of his best games occurred on April 19th as he went three for five with a double, two home runs and five RBI's against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Another highlight took place when he hit a two-run walk-off home run to beat the Marlins on September 25th to beat the Marlins and clinched a spot in the wild card game for the Braves. Freeman ended the season with his .259 average, and 23 home runs and 94 RBI's. He was trying to become the first Brave to reach 100 RBI's since 2007, when Jeff Francoeur did it.
Freeman will definitely be around in Atlanta next season and starting at first base for the Braves. He will hope to have a full season of being healthy. Also, the Braves need him to be healthy as he will be heavily counted on to help replace the production that Chipper Jones gave the Braves. Look for Freeman to continue to grow and have another stellar season in 2013.