The wait among Dodger fans for Freddie Freeman’s return to the lineup has been a long one.
The wait among the Freeman family certainly felt longer as Freeman’s 3-year-old son, Maximus, waited to return home from the hospital in the wake of a scary medical incident.
Sunday, Freeman’s wife relayed the news all had been waiting for: Maximus has been discharged from the hospital.
“After 8 long days in the Pediatric ICU we are officially HOME!” Chelsea Freeman wrote Sunday. “Max still has a long road ahead of him to regain his strength and relearn how to walk. But we are so thankful to have our family back together. Thank you God for this miracle. Also, thank you to our incredible team of doctors and angel nurses for taking such good care of our boy. And to our village for helping so much with Charlie and Brandon. #MaxStrong #GBS #gbsawareness #gbssurvivor“
Maximus was diagnosed with a rare case of Guillain-Barré syndrome after going into full body paralysis. The scary incident prompted Freddie Freeman to leave the team amid a road trip to Houston, Texas. He was placed on the family emergency list July 26.
Saturday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated Freeman might return to the team during the team’s home series against the Philadelphia Phillies beginning Monday.
Now, we have a fuller context for the reason behind Freeman’s imminent return.
Freeman’s teammates certainly seemed to play an inspired brand of baseball Saturday, when they beat the Oakland A’s 10-0.
The Dodgers had been averaging 3.8 runs per game since Freeman left the team last Friday in Houston — more than a full run lower than their average runs per game (4.9) for the 2024 season.
Freeman’s return will come during a particularly tough stretch in the schedule. The Dodgers have an off-day Thursday after they host the National League-leading Philadelphia Phillies for three games. That’s their only respite amid a stretch of 19 games in 20 days.
Freeman is hitting .288 this season with 16 home runs, 67 RBIs, and five stolen bases. He was chosen to the National League All-Star team in July for the eighth time in his career.
Photo Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
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