Braves: Freddie Freeman Returns to Atlanta for First Time

A moment many thought would never happen, but Freddie Freeman will visit Truist Field on Friday opposing the Atlanta Braves for the first time. 

The Atlanta Braves drafted Freddie Freeman with the 78th overall pick in the 2007 MLB Draft out of Orange, California.

He then spent the next 15 years as part of the Braves’ organization where he become one of the best players in franchise history, made 5 All-Star games, won a Gold Glove, 2 Silver Sluggers, an MVP, and brought a World Series championship to the city.

Freddie was a fan favorite and an icon in Atlanta — the perfect successor to Chipper Jones.

It was a marriage that was never supposed to end … until it did.

We don’t need to relive what became an ugly divorce during the offseason — Mark Bowman of MLB.com did that for you here if you need a refresher.

Bottom line, he is no longer a part of this organization — and that’s OK.

But don’t let the bitterness some of you may have towards Freeman (and his agents) ruin what should be a weekend of celebration for someone who did so much for the city of Atlanta and the organization.

He’s a top 10 player to ever play for the organization and he deserves to be celebrated … at least until his second at-bat.

It’s still hard to imagine him wearing a different jersey, but this is baseball and unfortunately, we are too often reminded that this is a business first.

This will be an emotional weekend for Freeman and his family who envisioned Atlanta being their home for the entirety of his career.

You saw the raw emotion from him in Los Angeles when the Braves visited the Dodgers in April.

Even though we’ve all had a lot of time now to process the change and move past it, there will undoubtedly be a lot more tears this weekend.

Freddie Freeman loves Braves Country and this Braves fan still loves him. Hopefully Braves Country will show their appreciation for him through this series.