Freddie Freeman Doubtful About Entering Elite MLB Club As Retirement Rumors Intensify

On Tuesday at PNC Park, Freddie Freeman became the 102nd player in the MLB to record 2500 hits. As Freeman ticked this milestone, the elite 3000 club now appears to be even more achievable. But to earn this feat, Freeman has sacrificed countless hours of quality time with family for seventeen years. Now at 36, the toll is catching up, and Freeman is not making promises anymore.

“I would love to get to 3,000 hits. I would love to. I’m not going to deny that,” Freeman said, per New York Post. “But do I know if I’m going to get there? I don’t know.”

During the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ 12-3 win, Freeman capped the 10-run seventh inning with a one-run single off the Pirates’ reliever. It was his 2,500th hit. Tuesday’s game was a multi-hit one for Freeman, as he recorded his 2499th hit off Paul Skenes in the sixth inning. The Pirates star had held off the Dodgers to two runs.

Following the match, as the Dodgers celebrated Freeman’s feat with congratulatory wishes and champagne, manager Dave Roberts joked about what’s next for the veteran.

“You’d better get 500 more,” Roberts reportedly said. “That’s a challenge, a tall order. But I’m not gonna bet against him.”

Hitting .286, Freeman has recorded 70 hits in 279 plate appearances this season. If he maintains his pace, then reaching the 3000-hits club by the time he is 40 should not be a problem. He recorded a 200-hit season in 2023 and led the league in 2022 (199 hits). While playing for the Atlanta Braves, Freeman has also led the National League in hits in 2018 (191 hits).

But after becoming a father for the fourth time, Freeman is not so sure about those plans. After becoming a girl-dad for the first time, the Dodgers’ first baseman craves more time with his precious family.

“It’s just hard when you’re seeing her growing up on the phone,” Freeman told the Post on Tuesday. “She’s already moved up to bigger diapers, and I didn’t really get to see it. So that’s the hard part … It weighs on my heart.”

Furthermore, Freeman made his intentions about retiring as a Dodger clear. So, his becoming a free agent at the end of the 2027 season adds another roadblock. Then, there is also the potential lockout next season, which could affect Freeman’s 3000-hits goal. Though Freeman has made it clear that he won’t be playing till 41, it does not mean he has abandoned the target. But it will not rule his career for the next however many seasons he plays.

“When you get up there [in career hits], everyone is talking about it. And I get it. I get how special it is, I do,” Freeman expressed, per The Post. “But if that’s the only reason I’m still trying to play and leaving my family every other week, to go get a round number, is that really gonna change how people view it?”

Meanwhile, Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros can catch up to Freeman by the end of the season. He currently sits at 2,430 hits.

Only time will tell whether Freeman will become the thirty-fourth player to reach the coveted club. But it won’t make the future Hall of Famer’s career any less legendary than it is now.

Freddie Freeman— the record-setter

With his seventh-inning hit on Tuesday, Freeman became the only active player in MLB to reach the 2,500 milestone. But that’s not all. The Dodgers first baseman also leads all active players of MLB in terms of runs, doubles, and RBIs. In 17 years of MLB career, he registered 1415 runs, 564 doubles, and 1358 RBI.

Freeman’s heroics also extend into the postseason, more specifically, the World Series. In 2024, he tied Bobby Richardson’s 1960 record by driving 12 RBIs in the World Series. In Game 1 against the New York Yankees, he made history by hitting the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history. It was a huge 423-foot home run in the 10th inning to win the game.

The 2024 World Series was unlike any other for Freeman, as he drove in homers in each of the first four World Series games. He became the second player to do so, matching George Springer’s 2017 feat. He also became the World Series MVP that year.

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