NL DIVISION SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS DODGERS

October 6, 2023

Freddie Freeman

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. What are the lessons learned last year that will help you this year?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: I think a lot that went into last year was us not hitting with runners in scoring position. I think from Game 2 to 4 we had a stretch of, like, 0-for-18, 0-for-19, 0-for-20.

I wish there was a blueprint this is what we need to do better. It's really if we can get the big hit. That's what playoffs are.

It's if you can get a guy or two on, hit the big three-run home run -- pitching is obviously massive in playoffs -- but if we can just get the big hit this year I think we'll be okay.

Q. Dave Roberts talked to us about a conversation a couple of vets had with him about making these five days a bit more intentional. How did you find that and how you guys were able to go through certain situations these last couple of days?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: Kind of the schedule was the same but within the intersquad games we did situations. And we had fans on Wednesday. We were doing first-and-second, first-and-third, second-and-third, get them in, you get points as a group. And we were competing against each other, team by team.

It was more just trying to replicate some situations that we'll have starting tomorrow. And just instead of just going out there and if Lance or someone was just striking everybody out, you're not going to get much out of it.

This time we just kind of did situational things in the last couple of days. And I thought the work was really good.

Q. Facing the Diamondbacks there's a lot of familiarity.

FREDDIE FREEMAN: Yeah.

Q. How do you use that going into the NLDS? Or is it such a different situation that you kind of have to take what you can? Do you have a different mindset heading in?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: Obviously a little bit of the same and obviously the settings are a little different. But you know the relievers that they have. So you're not facing them the first time where only we faced them -- like, if we played the Brewers, we only faced them six games, so you might have Hoby Milner a couple times.

But now you're facing Kyle Nelson and those guys multiple times over the course of the year so you're familiar with their stuff and how they like to pitch you and things like that.

So I think familiarity on both sides. So we'll see who can outmatch each other.

Q. What particular challenges do Gallen and Kelly present in? And where have you guys had success --

FREDDIE FREEMAN: When you say those two names, they're two of the best pitchers in the game. Zac is going for the Cy Young with Blake, and Merrill is Merrill. He throws up 180, 190 innings and with a 3.00 ERA.

You're not going to get to the playoffs unless you have good pitching. And we'll face two of the best here in the first couple of games.

We know what they've got. We know how they like their pitches. Hopefully we can get some hits.

Q. With Clayton starting Game 1, he even kind of admitted he wasn't fully expecting to start Game 1. What have you seen especially coming off the IL, battling through that?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: When No. 22 is on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers you feel good about it. Clayton Kershaw, even though he might not think he's fully ready or however he feels, I think everybody else in this stadium, the clubhouse, is pretty excited for him to start tomorrow.

Might not be throwing 95, like I used to face him 15 years ago, but he knows how to pitch and he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer for a reason.

Q. How has your lineup been different since J.D. Martinez returned from the injured list?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: J.D., I mean, he's player of the week for a reason. When he sits in the 5 hole, and obviously when you face lefties he goes to the 4 hole, you're putting a Silver Slugger right in the middle of the lineup that knows how to drive in runs, gets the big two-out hits. He's been on championship teams, experience.

When you add something like that it makes our lineup that much longer. So massive sign for us this past offseason. He's been everything you could ask for this year.

Q. You guys have talked about trying not to listen to, like, external noise, how people thought you were going to do this year. But just does some of that kind of alleviate some of the pressure that comes with playing for this team? Does it add to kind of the way this team has bonded over the course --

FREDDIE FREEMAN: I think when you put on this uniform, there's always pressure when you put -- it's a winning franchise. You expect to win when you come here.

And, yeah, we heard it that we didn't spend billions of dollars, and we're not going to be good now for some reason. But we knew in the clubhouse in Spring Training that we had a good group.

Yeah, we needed to figure things out in the first five, six weeks. And then we caught fire kind of as we went six, seven weeks in.

We knew what we had. We came together as a group real fast. I think everybody's that's been watching us all year know how much fun we have as a group and it translates onto the field.

Q. Obviously trying to win a World Series is motivation enough. But does last year help you guys lock in a little bit quicker at the start of this year?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: We have a lot of new guys, too. So if that helps me or someone from last year take it into this year -- we've still got Jason Heyward, and David Peralta, there's so many guys that weren't here from last year's group.

Whatever you need to take -- it's the playoffs. I don't think you need any extra motivation. But it's a different group of guys with the same mentality that we've got to go out there and hopefully we have a good three weeks.

Q. I just spent the last two days with a dude who made a song called "Hit the Freddie," the dance that you guys do. Can you talk about the second half of the season, how much fun you guys have been having with that?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: Obviously if people don't know that started -- we have a gala here for the Dodgers Foundation. And it's a great event, and Usher was here. And everyone loves Usher.

I was having a good time. I was dancing, I was dancing for a front office guy, because he was videoing, I was having fun but somehow it went viral.

So we were at Max Muncy's house in Texas for his daughter's birthday. We were all just hanging out. And one thing one guy started saying, let's do Freddie's dance. I was, like, oh, geez. I put my head down.

Next day I was the first one to hit a double, so I decided to do it. It's fun. And when you go on the road -- obviously everyone does it here on Dodgers Stadium. But when you go on the road and you do it back to your dugout, there's a whole group of Dodgers fans, because we travel pretty well.

It's pretty cool. Hopefully there's a lot of dancing starting tomorrow.

Q. Do you think all that type of fun has kind of made this group more tight knit, especially after last year?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: Yeah, I mean, obviously you see what we do on the field. It's fun. Miguel Rojas is dancing four minutes before a game in the dugout to the song. There's a lot in the clubhouse.

We have a good group. I haven't been to so many team dinners as a group before this year. It's so close-knit. We have so much fun. It's so much fun to come to work every single day with this group of guys. Hopefully that translates into 11 more wins.

Q. Going back to Clayton, what have you seen from him lately, the lead-by-example warrior mentality?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: I mean, I think he's the first one to tell you he hasn't been feeling, like, 100 percent and he goes out there and gives you everything he's got. The velocity is 88, 89 right now. And with that slider it's still Clayton Kershaw.

When he steps on the mound, you just feel good. And you're not going to feel good every single day for position players, maybe not every five days for starters. But when you're a competitor like he is, you find ways. You just find ways to be able to compete. You grind. You do everything you can in between starts to do the best you can.

And what he's been able to do the last couple of months, the way he's felt, it's inspiring. There's a reason Hall of Famers are Hall of Famers. And this is another chapter to Clayton Kershaw that just solidifies that all things are he's ever been about.

Q. Another Clayton Kershaw question. Obviously you knew of his talent before you got here. But what's stood out in the two years you've been together? And do you ever step back and say, man, at least I get to spend part of my career with Clayton Kershaw?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: I think everyone that steps foot in the Dodgers clubhouse gets to say they get to be a teammate with Clayton Kershaw.

But I've always -- I got to play with Chipper and Hall of Famers and things like that, but I always like to see how people are on their start days, especially starting pitchers. And Clayton is -- it's fun. He conserves all his energy. He knows what he's doing day in, day out.

When he starts and the four days leading up to starts, his work ethic in the weight room, I mean, most people don't see he's here at 1:00 after start days in the outfield doing his exercises, getting his body, getting ready for the next start.

It's incredible his work ethic. And I mean he doesn't have the career he has just showing up every five days. But his start days are -- I wish -- I don't think he likes talking about it, I wish we could have a camera and follow him around, it's a treat. But being around a Hall of Famer for two years, it's been nice.

Q. This is such a tight-knit group. A lot of veteran presence. What do you say to some of the younger guys, especially the pitchers, this is their first experience in the postseason?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: I mean, words are words until you step foot onto that field and you've got 55,000 people and every pitch matters.

We do the best talking to James and Bobby and Emmet and Michael and everyone that hasn't been in the playoffs before to just prepare them with what's going to happen, but we're humans. Emotions are emotions.

And I always tell everyone, just let it happen. You work so hard in your whole life to become a Major Leaguer and you're wanting to win a World Series. First time in, my first one I struck at my first at-bat because I was shaking in the box. That's just how it is.

You can just tell them -- you lay out what it's going to look like tomorrow, but until they get into it and feel it, that's the beauty of being in this situation.

So usually -- one of my favorite things about this is having one of the best records, you get home field advantage. We're playing defense first. You can get out there, play defense, kind of calm down by the time you get your first at-bat, potentially.

But we just say, we lay out what it's going to look like but let it happen, let the emotions happen. Once you get through the first little at-bat, maybe the first play, everything usually settles down and it's just a baseball game -- until 60,000 people are screaming. (Laughter).

Q. I think Kersh Cam on streaming service, money-maker?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: I think it would be. He's getting towards the end of his career, maybe he'll allow that.

Q. What was at stake with the sim game points and who won?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: The blue teams won. But I was on the blue team the first day; we had the most points. And then the blue team, we switched jerseys, and the blue team beat us yesterday.

It was just more of bragging rights. The blue team was hot. But I felt like we had a chance yesterday. So we had bases loaded. There were no outs. And Doc instead wanted Jonny DeLuca to bunt, to work on a defensive play. I said, wait a second, we need to score these runs; I want these guys to come in for points.

But it was just more bragging points between the guys and Lance -- Mookie got Lance yesterday. There's some cool things going on yesterday. But more bragging rights. But the blue team won, but I was not part of that second blue team.

Q. In a traditional best-of-7 playoffs, you can afford a loss, maybe even two. But in a best-of-5, games become more critical. Does that change strategically, mentally, anything about the game?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: Not for us. I mean, we're just trying to win every single game. I'd rather go win every game and never lose a game.

But it's set up a little differently this year with a day off in between the first two games. So Game 1 and Game 2 starters can now pitch Game 4 and 5 if that were the case. But I think strategy -- I'm just trying to hit. So I think that would be a question for Doc, if they were in that group. I'm just trying to do the best I can to get hits.

Q. Seems like the national narrative is you guys have a great offense, historically great first team to score 900 runs since the franchise moved to LA. But can you talk about all the comments you have on the pitching staff to have enough to get it done in October?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: So, I think a lot of it has been talking about our pitching. We have Clayton is the only one from our Opening Day rotation that's in there now.

We have Emmet. You have Bobby, who has taken massive steps from the first start he made this year to what he looks like now.

Michael Grove, taking down quality innings, Gavin Stone, Lance Lynn, and Ryan Yarbrough, who has been huge for us ever since we got him over. And the back of our bullpen, you've got Bazooka and Caleb. Graterol had an unbelievable year. Evan's been, as a closer, unbelievable. I think everything's shaped up.

Yeah, we have rookies in our starting rotation, but when you have the rookies that are those kind of rookies, you feel good about them, because they're quality people. They're awesome to be in the clubhouse with and they have great arms. So I think we feel confident with our group.

Q. Did you like that the intersquad game was open to the fans the other day, or how did it help?

FREDDIE FREEMAN: It was fun. They were doing interviews and all that kind of stuff during the game. It did bring a lot of -- it's fun.

You've got those fans that come and want to watch us practice. They love the Dodgers. It was cool. They had music. They were giving out Dodger Dogs. And it was a great time.

Obviously we played six innings that day. It was a lot of baseball for them to come out on weekdays, support us and let us know that they care, I thought that was a really, really cool thing.