LOS ANGELES — In Game 1 of the 2024 World Series, Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman made history with a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning.

The Dodgers won Game 1 and the rest of the series for the franchise’s eighth World Series championship. 

“You see the reactions from fans and how excited they were. You don’t really think about it because you’re doing it, and you don’t really understand when everyone says they’re going to talk about this forever. It’s hard to really contemplate that,” said a reflective Freeman on his magical at-bat.

But his historic postseason run was preceded by a regular season during which he missed eight games as his youngest son Max was diagnosed with and battled a rare nerve disorder.   

“It really puts things into perspective that we get to play a game for a living,” Freeman said.

“And then, when you see a 3-year-old fighting for his life, especially when it’s your own 3-year-old, it’s definitely eye opening. I’ve been through a lot in my life. Losing my mom and things like that, but seeing your own son on a ventilator, it’s really hard. I don’t know if I separated it very good and played very good when I came back,” he said.

With everything his family has endured, Freeman, an El Modena High School alum, feels gratitude to be playing for a city and fan base back home in Southern California.

“When you get to fan fest and there’s people with tattoos of you, you start to realize like, yeah, this is more than a game to people. Obviously, that’s how I feel about it. This is what I’ve dedicated my whole life to and to create memories for people that are going to last forever,” he said.

In an interview with Spectrum News, Freeman discusses his eventful year as the Dodgers look to defend their World Series trophy.