There is no love lost for Dodger fans when the Houston Astros come to town. Most of the team may have moved on, but the fans will never forgive – or forget – not knowing if the Boys in Blue could have secured a World Series Championship in 2017 thanks to the Astros cheating.

The Dodgers took the series. However, they battled in extra innings on Sunday evening and dropped the third game 6-5 by one point in the 11th inning. Despite the loss, there was a bright spot with history made during the matchup.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Dodgers second baseman Mookie Betts was hit by a pitch and took first base. All-Star and 2021 World Series Champion first baseman Freddie Freeman then hit a double, his second of the game, scoring Betts, who had stole second base. It would also give the Dodgers their first run since Betts’ lead-off home run in the bottom of the first inning, thus kickstarting a rally when catcher Will Smith hit a two-run homer to tie and reset the game at 5-5 and forcing it into extra innings.

The rally is not even the best part. Freeman went 2-for-5 on Sunday afternoon. Though not just any two hits. When the game began, the legendary player had 1,998 career hits. He initially doubled in the bottom of the sixth inning, then slugged his second aforementioned double in the bottom of the eighth to earn his 2,000th career hit. It was also his MLB-leading 27th double of the season.

The crowd at Dodger Stadium went wild with chants of “Freddie, Freddie, Freddie.” Freeman then tipped his helmet in acknowledgment from second base before refocusing on the game. Once back in the dugout between innings, he received a second ovation. He humbly acknowledged the curtain call by waving to the 47,273 fans in attendance.

After the game, Freddie made a heartfelt speech during a champagne toast in the Clubhouse with his teammates to celebrate his accomplishment.

“You know, guys, these last two years for me have been pretty special to be able to come back to Southern California from where I grew up and play in front of my family every single night and for you guys to become family for me. This is what it’s all about. You guys know I like the grind. I like to play every day, the consistency. Come into work every single day. I think that’s what 2,000 hits means to me is just being able to go out there every day and grind and compete every single day. So, hopefully, we can get a lot more hits together. But thank you, guys, it’s a treat to be able to compete with you guys every single day. We get to go on a happy flight tomorrow.”

Later, as Freeman settled in for the postgame interview with the press, Juan Toribio, a writer for MLB.com, informed him that he is the 98th hitter in baseball history with 2,000 hits and 300 home runs. The humble first baseman, who admittedly is not one to talk about himself, was taken aback.

“Yeah, that kind of hits a little bit,” the cornerman said. “This game has been going on for a long time. There’s been what 16,000, 17,000 people to play this game? To be under a hundred, it’s hard for me to put into words right now because you just told me that.”

He continued, “When you do stuff like this, I think it just kind of, it’s just all of the hard work that I think about, you know, with my dad back in the day. All the batting practice he’s thrown. It’s just not me, it’s him. It’s all the sacrifice he made, my family’s made. It’s just special to just achieve some of these things. And for the fans, and for my teammates, and coaching staff to appreciate it as we’re going along, that makes it even more special. But to be (the) 98th player to do that, yeah that’s hard to even put into words. It’s just really, really cool.”

Freddie mentioned it took longer to get here than he thought. His main goal is to stay healthy enough to get another 1,000 hits if he “gets to play” that long.

“Hits mean a lot to me. Everyone views success differently in their careers and how they go about it,” Freeman explained. “Hits and average – that is what I care about. If I have a lot of hits and I have a good average, that means I’m getting on base a lot for my team, right, and score a lot of runs. So that’s how I view it, and everyone’s different. But I like hits. Hopefully, we get a lot more.”

Since joining the team in Los Angeles, Freddie Freeman has become a fan favorite. It would be wonderful if he accomplished his next goal while still wearing Dodger blue. The fans who caught the game on Sunday, were rewarded by watching a well-deserved feat. And while he is part of an elite group in performance, at the end of the day, Freeman just wants to be on the field playing.

“I am not a big comparison person. I like people to be their own players. I’m me. I don’t want to be compared to anybody, I just want to go out there and play.”

Here’s to Freddie and the next milestone we all get to witness!

Let’s go Dodgers!

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