Who Is The Atlanta Braves Team Leader, We Hear Freddie Freeman’s Take

Jul 28, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves right fielder Jason Heyward (22) gets a hug from first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) after hitting a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the third inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

One of the major story lines heading into the 2013 season was “Who is the Atlanta Braves team leader now that Chipper Jones has retired?”

Well, after a long offseason of debating who would take this role, it came down to player-by-committie kind of thing.  Brian McCann, Tim Hudson, Dan Uggla, Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman all seemed to fit the role last year at one point or the other.

2014 now….

Hudson and McCann are gone,

Uggla well is Uggla,

Heyward just signed a two year deal to stay in Atlanta,

And last week Freeman signed the largest contract to date in Braves franchise history with an eight year deal.

The obviously choice for me would be that Freddie steps into the “leadership” role for the Braves in 2014 but thanks to 680 The Fan, we get to hear Freddie Free’s answer.

"I’m not a very local guy as you guys see in the club house, I just go through and try to put the work in and go out stick to my routine and play hard every single night.  I think Jason is more of the vocal guy and I think having him around the next two years will definitely help.  I’m more of a guy that hopefully you follow by example, I go out and play with a passion and work really hard at being the best I can every single night.  That is the type of leader I envision myself being.  I’m not the rah-rah guy, I just go about my business and hope these guys follow.  I think that’s how Chipper was and that’s how Brian and I think I can also step into that role too."

So there you go, it’s definitely a different tone from FF5 from last year during this time.  When asked about being the team leader before spring training last year he responded with I’m too goofy, I’m too funny, I’m not serious enough to take over that role.

In 2014, Freddie will lead by example on the field with his clutch hits and his hugs and JHey will get the guys ready to go inside and outside the clubhouse.