---

After a September call up that included a 20-game audition, Freddie Freeman was in the bigs to stay in 2011. His first full campaign included 21 homers, 76 RBI, and a .282 average.

Those numbers earned him a second-place finish in Rookie of the Year balloting. Only Braves teammate Craig Kimbrel earned more of the vote.

Kimbrel’s season was quite possibly the greatest ever by a rookie reliever. Kimbrel led the National League in saves with 46 and pitched to a stingy 2.10 ERA. His performance earned him a 9th-place finish in the Cy Young race and a vote for the MVP Award.

In the collection is the All Star ring receipt that Kimbrel signed in his rookie year of 2011. One must imagine how surreal it must’ve been for the youngster to stand alongside the greatest players in the game in the Midsummer Classic.

---

Freddie Freeman was a 17-year old high school senior when the Braves selected him in the second round of the 2007 draft. He remained with the organization for the next 15 seasons. Those formative years of his career make him forever revered in Atlanta.

As a youngster Freeman climbed through Braves minor league system, and made his big league debut at 20 years of age in 2010. After the brief September audition, he became the everyday first baseman in 2011. Freeman was an immediate sensation. In his rookie season the 6’5″, 220-pounder hit .282 with 21 homers, 76 RBI and a 116 OPS+. The performance earned him a runner-up finish to teammate Craig Kimbrel in Rookie of the Year balloting.

The sweet-swinging left-handed hitting Freeman played for the Braves for another decade, making four All Star appearances. His time in Atlanta included seven seasons in which he received MVP consideration. In 2020 his .341/.462/.640 slash line earned him 28 of the 30 MVP votes as he took home the hardware. The following season he helped the Braves win it all. It proved to be his final season in Atlanta.

In March of 2022 Freeman signed a 6-year, $122M contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Freeman’s first game back in Atlanta as a member of the Dodgers came on June 24, 2022. The emotional return was tearful for the first baseman. Braves fans showered him with their affection, standing in ovation for their former hero.

Shown here is the receipt Freeman signed to receive his 2014 All Star ring. The game marked Freeman’s first in the Mid Summer Classic.

---

In 1999 Major League Baseball created the Hank Aaron Award to recognize the the top overall offensive performer in each league. According to MLB.com, a panel of Hall of Famers combines with a fan vote to determine the recipient.

In 2020 Freddie Freeman earned the honor. That year he tallied a 187 OPS+ and a slash line of .341/.462/.640.

Shown here is a telegram from the day after Aaron passed the Babe Ruth to become baseball’s career home run leader. Dated April 9, 1974, it reads, “Congratulations on number 715”. Aaron has signed the bottom right of the telegram. Click here to see a list of Hank Aaron Award winners.

---

Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman made LA Dodger history in 2023. Finishing 2nd and 3rd in the NL MVP vote, the pair’s performance marked the first season in Los Angeles history that Angelino teammates each had at least 6.0 WAR.

First baseman Freeman set the Dodger franchise record with 59 doubles – the most by any player in nearly 90 years. Only six men in the history of the game have recorded more two-base hits in a season. Freeman’s 90 extra-base knocks were tops in the majors and a new LA Dodger single-season mark. His 131 runs scored also established the new LA standard. On the year Freeman slashed .331/.410/.567. The performance earned him a third-place finish in Most Valuable Player Award balloting.

The runner-up in the MVP race was Betts. He led the bigs with a dozen leadoff homers and established a career-high with 39 overall. An All Star for the fourth time in five years, he captured his sixth Silver Slugger Award in 2023.

In August that year Mookie returned to Fenway Park for the first time since the Red Sox dealt him to the Dodgers in 2020. During the three-game set in Boston he went 7-for-15 with two doubles, a home run, and four RBI. His efforts gained him his 5th career Player of the Week Award.

Betts had a month to remember in August. He slashed .455/.516/.839 and had a remarkable 1.355 OPS. His otherworldly performance earned the National League’s Player of the Month, On the year Mookie hit .307 with a .408 on-base percentage, a .579 slugging mark, with 126 runs scored, 39 homers, and 107 runs batted in.

Shown here is a ticket that allowed a fan into Fenway Park on July 2, 2014. In that contest Betts hit is first career home run, recorded his first multi-hit game and first big league RBI. On the reverse are two holograms authenticating both the ticket and the signature. The MLB hologram shows that Mookie signed this on February 22, 2024. The Fanatics hologram also verifies Betts’ signature which includes the inscription, “1st MLB HR”.

---

Freddie Freeman had a World Series to remember in 2024. In Game 1 he slugged the first walk-off grand slam in Fall Classic history. Freddie followed that up by homering in each of the next three games.

In New York for Game 5, the Dodgers found themselves down 5-0 to Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole. The in the fifth inning, Los Angeles clawed back thank in part to Freeman’s two-out, two-run single.

By the time the night was over the Dodgers won 7-6, capping the largest-ever comeback in a World Series-clinching contest. Thanks in large part to his four home runs, Freeman slugged 1.000 in 20 Fall Classic at bats to earn the Series MVP Award.

The win legitimized the Dodger postseason string that reached 12 straight Octobers by 2024. Despite the success, all Dave Roberts’ club had to show for it was a lone Fall Classic triumph in the covid-shortened 2020 campaign.

When Freeman and the Dodgers were crowned champions in 2024, that narrative went out the window. No longer were the Dodgers mentioned in the same breath as the 1995-2005 Braves who boasted 14 straight October appearances with only one ring to show for it.

The Dodger triumph made them the best team of the era. It also likely punched Roberts’ ticket to Cooperstown.

In the collection is this questionnaire filled out entirely in Roberts’ hand. This piece provides a glimpse into the early professional career of the successful skipper.

Roberts wouldn’t see a pitch in the big leagues for three more years when he filled out this California League publicity questionnaire in 1996. At the time he was a 23-year old college graduate with an uncertain future in baseball.

---

Freddie Freeman’s walk-off homer in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series drew comparisons to Kirk Gibson’s iconic Game 1 blast from 1988, both striking at the heart of baseball history. In both cases, the home runs came with their respective teams trailing, sending shockwaves through the stadium. Freeman’s shot sailed into the right field stands at 8:37 p.m. local time, the exact moment when Gibson’s similarly unforgettable homer had cleared the fence 36 years earlier.

What made these moments even more remarkable was their connection to a larger narrative: both teams went on to win the World Series in five games. For the Dodgers, 1988 and 2024 were historic, and both walk-off homers shared an unmistakable flair for the dramatic.

Joe Davis, the current Dodgers announcer, beautifully paid homage to Vin Scully, his predecessor, when Freeman’s ball disappeared into the stands. Echoing Scully’s legendary call of Gibson’s homer, Davis bellowed, “She is gone!” with the same grace and emotion. Then, with a nod to history, he added, “Gibby, meet Freddie!”

Vin Scully’s timeless line after Gibson’s walk-off – “In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened!” – could easily describe both home runs. Remarkably, only three World Series walk-off homers have occurred with a team trailing: Gibson’s, Joe Carter’s for the Blue Jays in 1993, and Freeman’s.