ATLANTA -- When Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman found out he was one of five National League finalists in MLB's Final Vote a few days ago, his reaction was one of mild sarcasm that mirrored national sentiment: There's no way he beats Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig.
Well, he did.
On Thursday afternoon, Braves general manager Frank Wren interrupted Freeman's batting practice at Turner Field to inform him that he will be heading to New York City next weekend as a first-time All-Star. Freeman beat out Puig, Adrian Gonzalez (Dodgers), Hunter Pence (Giants) and Ian Desmond (Nationals) with a record 19.6 million votes.
"It's incredible, it's a dream come true. ... It still hasn't hit me yet," Freeman said. "I like to come to the park, as you guys know, and just get my work done and go out there and play. I'm not a big get-in-front-of-the-camera guy. I never ever thought I'd make (an All-Star team). I just wanted to get to the big leagues. And then when I got her I just wanted to win ball games. All-Star games were not on my mind."
Freeman said his first call he would make would be to his father in California, who he claims was involved in the voting process -- "I think he was one of the only people that voted (for me) in California," Freeman joked -- along with all the other Braves fans who hit the online ballot box, texted in votes and/or used the #VoteFreddie hashtag on social media. There were a record 79.2 million votes, breaking 2009's record of 68.6 million.
Freeman has been the most consistent offensive threat on one of baseball's best teams this season, hitting .304 with nine home runs and 56 RBI. He joins center fielder Andruw Jones as the only Braves players to win the online balloting. Atlanta teammate Craig Kimbrel, the team's dominant closer, will also make the trip to Citi Field.
Freeman is the first Braves first baseman to make an All-Star roster since Andres Galarraga in 2000.
The original favorite to win the NL roster's final spot, Puig, who is
hitting .394 with eight home runs and 19 RBI, finished second in the NL
voting.
To be blunt, there was an apparent national push to see Puig voted to the NL's roster (for understandable reasons), which was met with an equally apparent backlash against the rookie -- not all of it warranted, as he's pieced together a dynamic debut -- for only playing 35 games before the voting ended. There was also pushback for "how he plays the game," which is an entirely different and multi-faceted All-Star road to travel down.
As it stands, the controversy (or meta-controversy) obviously helped push a successful online event for baseball. And from teammates holding up cardboard signs on TV broadcasts to marine wildlife involvement at the Georgia Aquarium to other celebrities (Rob Gronkowski, Jason Aldean and, of course, Chipper Jones), the owner of the league's 12th-best batting average obviously received a healthy portion of the public's backing.
Puig and the other non-invitees still have an opportunity to make the All-Star team via injury replacement, which are designated by player voting. Last season, two Braves players (Chipper Jones, Michael Bourn) fell short in the Final Vote, but still made the roster through a similar avenue.
Freeman's American League counterpart is Blue Jays reliever Steve
Delabar. In related news, Atlanta and Toronto utilized a social
media "alliance" during the voting process, which presumably worked out
for both organizations (and their newly-minted All-Stars).
Freeman becomes the fourth member of a deep class of NL first basemen, joining former MVP Joey Votto, Paul Goldschmidt and Allen Craig, all three of whom rank in the top-30 in the National League in wins above replacement. The 23-year-old Braves first baseman looked rather incredulous when hearing his name mentioned among some of the game's best at his position.
"That's incredible. Those are the (types of) guys that I looked up to before I even got to the big leagues," Freeman said of his fellow All-Star teammates. "To be able to sit next to them in the dugout during the Home Run Derby, you think I'm not going to pick their brains? I'm just gonna have a lot of fun and take it all in. It's just something I'll never forget."
Best known locally for his signature dugout hugs (notwithstanding his ever-improving offensive game), Freeman offered a friendly warning to his teammates and coaches as he exited stage left from the media scrum before taking on the Cincinnati Reds.
"That's a lot of hugs I've got to give out."
