Freeman is ready for 2025 and expects a smoother year than 2024

For Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers' first full-team workout was just the start of a busy Saturday. After training at Camelback Ranch, Freeman rushed to his youngest son, Max, for his birthday party.

Freeman briefly left the team last season when Max, who turned 4 at the time, was diagnosed with a rare neurological condition, Guillain-Barré syndrome. Now, Max is recovering well and Freeman is in good form and he's ready to give it his all for the new season.

"I'm feeling great, I'm in good shape and my ankle is recovering exactly as expected," Freeman said. "Obviously, a lot has been going through last year, so hopefully this year will be a smoother time for the Freemans."

Freeman underwent surgery on his right ankle in the offseason, an ankle problem that plagued him during the Dodgers' World Series. He said he was "fully on plan" and was able to participate in the opening series in Tokyo on March 18-19.

Freeman was relieved that he had "almost returned to full condition". He's running on an anti-gravity treadmill at around 80% of his body weight (hopefully starting a gradual return to running by the middle of next week) and is involved in infield training and percussion exercises. On Saturday, he even stepped into the strike zone during a go-to-the-combat strike practice against Tony Gonsolin.

"I shouldn't have swung the bat today, but I did," Freeman said. "I can't help it."

While Freeman is expected to miss some early Cactus League games, both he and the Dodgers are optimistic that he will be able to play Spring Training before the end of the month. If necessary, the team may limit Freeman to avoid him putting too much of an eye on the ankle.

"We'll manage his recovery during spring training," head coach Dave Roberts said. "But we saw his three-run hit in the division series against the Padres, so once he was on the court, he played the way he wanted."

It took some time for Freeman to fully digest everything that happened last season. He said it wasn't until sometime last December that he and his eldest son, Charlie, started watching YouTube videos of his Goodbye Home Run hit in the first game of the World Series against the Yankees, from fan reactions to comparisons to Kirk Gibson's 1988 legendary Goodbye home run.

(Charlie had to ask who Gibson was.) "I'm sorry, Kirk," Freeman said. ）

At the time, Freeman had a lot to attend to and more important things to worry about than a goodbye Slam home run. But it was only when he was able to take a step back and realize what it meant to create such an iconic moment in franchise history, that he truly appreciated what that meant to Dodgers fans.

"Obviously, as a family, we went through a lot and that happened at the time...... I'd rather be struck out at that time than see Max go through that. And the end result was the complete opposite, and it took me some time to accept," Freeman said. "But whenever I'm out and about, there's always someone who brings it up...... It's special. I'm so happy to be a part of the fond memories for so many people. ”