The Loop
That Freddie Freeman might be the nicest guy on the planet
I’m not sure if you noticed this or not, but plenty of people who take pride in being “nice people” really aren’t all that nice. They LOVE the idea of being nice because it makes them feel good about themselves, but it’s mostly an act or a habit, something they do to keep up appearances. But there are some people who are so genuinely, naturally, unselfconsciously nice that you know it has to be real—hardwired into their beings not because of the manners they were taught or the weekends spent in one house of worship or another, but because it’s in their very genetic code. Freddie Freeman is one of those people.
That’s Freddie congratulating Phillies rookie Alec Bohm for his first career home, which he splashed into the outfield pond at Truist Field on Sunday. “That’s a really nice first home run,” Freeman told his dreaded division rival when the two shared third base later in the game. “It’s a good story too. ‘Why is your ball waterlogged?’ ‘Well because I hit it 450 feet to dead center.’ Really nice. Congratulations!” Haters are going to point to Freddie being mic’d up as an ulterior motive, but we choose to believe.
Unfortunately for Freeman and co., the old adage that “nice guys finish last” also came to fruition. In the bottom of the ninth, Freeman lined a single into left center with two outs and Dansby Swanson on second. Swanson came motoring around third only to get tagged out on a game-ending play at the plate that would have sent the whole shebang to extras. But if we know Freddie like we think we do, he was probably the first guy out there to congratulate Didi Gregorius on the throw.