Freddie Freeman hits Kirk Gibson on a grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series – NBC Los Angeles

An incredible year.

An impossible situation.

Injured player on one leg.

The immortal World Series homer.

It all feels surreal, like deja vu on a grand scale.

Did Freddie Freeman really just pass on Kirk Gibson, rekindling the spirit of a moment that was forever seared into the hearts of Dodgers fans from 36 years ago?

Did the Los Angeles Dodgers really steal Game 1 of the World Series from the jaws of defeat to the New York Yankees with one off?

Yes. Yes, they did it.

As Freeman walked into Shepherd’s on a cool, crisp Friday night and came face to face with Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes, the tension at Dodger Stadium rose like a swarm of bees in a jewelry box.

Like Gibby before him, Freddie hobbled with a sprained ankle and was carried in and out of the lineup for weeks throughout the postseason.

The reality was that after his injury, Freeman was a shell of his former self. He was batting .219 with no home runs, no extra-base hits and only one RBI in the playoffs until the biggest moment of his life.

Surely this weak, frail and one-legged former MVP can’t do the impossible, right?

52,394 fans held their breath; The Yankees could feel victory just inches away from their powerful embrace.

And then on the Fourth of July, the ball exploded off Freeman’s bat like an explosive firecracker. CRACK! The sound echoed through Chavez Gorge and reached as far as the Bronx.

As the ball flew halfway across the right field pavilion, Dodger Stadium shook as the crowd realized they had just witnessed something mesmerizing and magical. It’s something they’ll talk about for the rest of their lives, something they’ll one day ask others: Do you remember where you were when Freddie Freeman faced the challenge late in the 10th round in the first match of the 2024 World Cup? Number?

“It was amazing,” said Max Muncy, the last Dodgers player to hit a homer in the World Series at Dodger Stadium. “Feel the ground shaking from the crowd. To see the reactions of all our teammates was just an unbelievable moment.

As Freeman watched the first-ever World Series Grand Slam unfold via walk-off, he looked at his father sitting behind home plate and pointed his bat at the sky as if to tell Fernando Valenzuela, “We got you. ”

As he casually dropped his bat and circled the bases, all the emotions from the last three months of his life poured out onto the field.

Freeman played earlier this year with a broken finger and missed two weeks in late July after his three-year-old son Max was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves. causing weakness, numbness, and in Max’s case, paralysis.

Freeman returned to the team, but suffered a sprained ankle during the final game of the regular season at Dodger Stadium. The 7-2 victory moved the Dodgers to 11th place in the NL West in the last 12 seasons.

“Knowing what Freddie has been through, it’s special for him to have this moment,” said teammate Mookie Bets, who was intentionally walked so Freeman could have his chance on the field. “I’m glad he was the one who did it.”

“The last few months have been a lot. It was a hard slog,” Freeman said, reflecting on his tumultuous journey to this point. “I love the history of the game, so being a part of it is special.”

FOX broadcaster Joe Davis, in a nod to legendary Dodgers voice Vin Scully, called the moment the same words that etched into baseball legend Gibson’s historic homer: “She’s gone!”

And like Scully before her, it seemed perfect and timeless. Instead of Scully’s classic line: “In a year that was so improbable, the impossible happened.” Davis ushered in a new chapter when he uttered, “Gibby, meet Freddie,” and in that moment, it wasn’t just a home run – it was a cinematic soundtrack playing before our eyes.

As Freeman hobbled around the bases, he charged toward the bullpen, screaming and screaming with joy as his teammates stormed home plate, waiting for their hero in an ecstatic frenzy.

“Everything was the same except for the fist pumps,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts joked when discussing how Freeman’s homer was compared to Gibsons’. “It (Gibson’s) was iconic. I think we will win three more games and Freddie will be on his way.

The similarities between these two magical moments are uncanny.

Both Gibson and Freeman were the underdogs at this point, physically weakened, with their backs against the wall and their teams heading into the finals.

Everyone witnessed the rally born from the walk, and eventually everyone drove onto the field deep into the same part of the pavilion at Dodger Stadium.

“Freddie will be the star of the first ballot. Every time he gets on the field, with or without one leg, you feel pretty good knowing what he can do,” said Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux, who started the rally with his single-out walk. “You felt like he was going to get hit hard there. You saw the look in his eyes. You can’t make this up.

For history’s sake, there have been 62 walk-offs in the 120-year history of the World Series.

The Dodgers made five walk-offs in the World Series.

Only three losing teams have won unscathed – Joe Carter for the Blue Jays in 1993, Gibson in 1988 and now Freeman in 2024. What do they all have in common other than the weight of history on their shoulders? They all made history in one perfect swing.

I was a kid myself when Gibson hit his ideal swing. For the next 36 years, I listened to the generation older than me discuss where they were and what they were doing when Gibby changed the course of history.

For me and Dodgers fans everywhere, Friday night felt like 1988 again. Just a moment etched in time for our generation. As fans hugged and high-fived, pointing their camera phones at the field and then at each other, echoes of history filled the air.

“This might be the greatest baseball moment I’ve ever witnessed,” Roberts said, his eyes shining with the respect Gibson has inspired in Dodgers fans for decades. “And I witnessed some great moments. It was just pure euphoria.”

Minutes after the explosion, Freeman, still full of adrenaline, sat at the podium to address the media. “I want to run through this table and throw myself at all of you (laughter),” he joked, describing how he felt. “It’s pretty cool. It’s going to be hard to sleep tonight.

Perhaps in Freeman’s dreams he will relive that night in its entirety.

The game began with a solemn tribute to the recently deceased Fernando Valenzuela – the number 34 etched on the mound and a moment of silence as Valenzuela’s family tearfully gathered along the third base line – and then, as if the Ravine had been filled with strength from Valenzuela himself, they began chanting “Fer- nand-do…Fer-nan-do…”

Three hours later, those chants had changed, eventually becoming louder and louder as their hero stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 10. “Fred-die…Fred-die…”

“These are the scenarios you dream about when you’re five years old,” Freeman said, smiling like a five-year-old version of himself, lost in the moment and looking up. “Two outs, bases loaded in a World Series game. For it to actually happen and make it to a Grand Slam. This is as good as it gets.”

“These are the kinds of things when you’re 5 years old with your two older brothers and you’re playing wiffle in the backyard, these are the scenarios you dream about, two outs, bases loaded in a World Series game.

The first World Series game played on Friday night will remain in our hearts and minds for the rest of our lives. Kirk Gibson had to smile and clench his fists wherever he watched the game.

What about Dodgers fans?

Well, they believed in the magic of October again.