Mookie Betts gives insight into Freddie Freeman's distinctive ability

Eight-time All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman gave a historic performance for the Los Angeles Dodgers to help his team win the World Series last year. Freeman was named the 2024 World Series MVP even though he was struggling with an injury in the playoffs while his youngest son, Max, had been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome in the middle of the season.

Fellow Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts is amazed at how his teammate Freddie Freeman can compartmentalize the issues in his personal and professional life to perform on the field. Betts stated that Freeman was barely able to train during the World Series even though he relied heavily on his practice routine, yet he still ended up as the MVP in the Fall Classic.

Mookie Betts was a guest on the "All The Smoke" podcast hosted by former NBA stars Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on Thursday. He offered an insight into the mentality of Freddie Freeman during the show. [7:06 - 10:34]

"He had all those things going on, but what I admired about it is his ability to separate them, tune it out," Betts said. "Just like everybody else, we all have stuff going on, but his ability to separate the family issues and then the injuries, this and that and the other, and really lock in on, "I'm going to take care of my job."

"To see him get ready, like he really didn't practice before a game; he couldn't, and he was a creature of habit. He's one of the top three people I know who has the same routine every day," Betts added. "He couldn't do his routine. He couldn't do any of that, and so guys usually freak out if they don't. [Yet], he won MVP."

Freeman batted .300/.364/1.000 with four home runs and 12 RBIs in the World Series.

He does a really good job in masking it: Mookie Betts on Freddie Freeman's fiery character

Freddie Freeman earned his second World Series title in 2024 (Image Source: Imagn)

Freddie Freeman is widely regarded as one of the most mild-mannered and affable superstars in the MLB of the present era. However, Mookie Betts said that the 2020 National League MVP has a fiery personality within himself that can rarely be seen by the fans.

"What you see is pretty much what you get. The only thing that people don't know is the fire that's lit within him. He does a really good job in masking it," Betts said. "But Freddie has some fire in him, especially during the game. So when he gets going, he puts that uniform on; he still smiles, but it's a switch that turns on."

Freeman hit a walk-off home run in Game 1 of the World Series against the New York Yankees despite playing with an injured ankle. He also smashed homers in the next three games to become the only player to hit home runs in each of the first four games of a Fall Classic. He also extended his record streak of getting a home run in six straight World Series games.