With hit No. 2,500 behind him, Freddie Freeman is turning his attention to the next major milestone.
Freeman expressed his gratitude for his team after recording his 2,500th career hit amid the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ 10-run seventh inning in their 12-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
Freeman became the only active player to register 2,500 hits with a seventh-inning single amid LA’s double-digit-run inning, where it sent 15 players to the plate. He had previously registered hit No. 2,499, a double against Pirates ace Paul Skenes in the sixth inning.
The Dodgers won their fifth game in the past seven and padded their lead to 8.5 games over the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres.
Freddie Freeman’s 2,500th hit ‘Means a lot’
GettyFreddie Freeman expressed gratitude for the Dodgers after recording his 2,500th hit Tuesday in Pittsburgh.
The Dodgers have been very good to Freeman since he signed with them after the 2021 season. He recognized his teammates, and especially manager Dave Roberts, after capping the huge inning with a run-scoring single that drove in Alex Freeland and made it 12-2.
“It does mean a lot,” Freeman said. “Obviously, when your manager and teammates appreciate what you’ve done over the course of your career, it does mean a lot.”
Freeman has seven hits in his past four games to boost his career total with the Dodgers to 796 and counting. He only has one 200-hit season (211 in 2023) in his 17-year career but has twice led the National League in hits (191 in 2018, 199 in 2022) and continues to be one of the most dangerous hitters in the majors.
“To step back and realize how long you have to play, the consistency over the course of that [and] to play at a high level for many, many years to get there it does mean a lot,” Freeman said. “I just try to play this game the right way to the best of my abilities every single day, and to reach some of these cool milestones as you get later in your career it’s definitely special.”
Freddie Freeman Turns his Sights to 3,000 Hits
GettyFreddie Freeman is the MLB active leader in career hits.
Of course, we live in a what’s-next society, and 2,500 hits, while impressive, is not the milestone that 3,000 hits is.
Freeman, and even Roberts, addressed that after the game.
“There’s always another milestone to get to,” Freeman said before adding, “I had to make a little speech, and [Roberts] ended it with ‘you better get 500 more.’”
Only 33 major leaguers have accomplished the 3,000-hit milestone, and Miguel Cabrera is the only player to record his 3,000th hit in the 2020s.
Still, at this point, Freeman’s chances of reaching the 3,000-hit mark will come down to whether he wants to chase it.
He’s done almost everything in his major-league career — he has three World Series rings, won the NL MVP in 2020 and will have a plaque in Cooperstown, New York at the Baseball Hall of Fame shortly after he calls it a career.
Freeman will be a pending free agent after the 2027 season and will be 38 years old when that contract expires — barring an extension from the Dodgers. In all likelihood, he will need to play at least through the 2029 season to reach 3,000 hits.
Freeman has already hinted at retiring after he completes his 20th major-league season, which would be 2029. But even though 3,000 is on his mind, Freeman also knows there’s a lot outside of his control.
“I never thought it about it ever until the last couple of years,” Freeman said. “It kind of sits on your mind, when you reach this one, the next one is the big one. But you’ve got to be healthy, and you’ve got to play longer.
“3,000 [hits] is the number I’d love to get to, but I have one year under contract left, so there are a lot of other factors that go into it.”
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