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Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman has said he wants to play three more years after this one, but that timeline appears to be shifting.
Freeman, 36, and his wife, Chelsea, welcomed their fourth child — and first daughter — last month, and with the arrival of that girl, named London, Freeman said his perspective on his baseball career has changed, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
“Obviously, getting 3,000 hits would be very, very cool,” Freeman said. “But ever since baby girl came into this world about a month ago, my perspective has changed a little bit on individual stats and how long I would want to play.”
Is Freddie Freeman still trying to play through the 2029 season?
Playing until age 40 is still the goal for Freeman, Rosenthal added, but he may not be as driven to accomplish that as he once was.
Freeman said he’s struggling with “seeing my daughter grow up on a FaceTime call,” especially as he’s “done a job for as long as I have and achieved almost everything, to be still missing things, that’s what’s hard on older guys in this game.”
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Apr 1, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (5) is greeted in the dugout after a solo home run in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
“I’m missing things for something she’ll never know,” Freeman said. “She’s not going to know I missed these things either. But it weighs on me and my heart. I think everybody who knows me knows it weighs on me hard.
“All I ever wanted was a family. But all I ever wanted to do was play baseball, too. It’s such a hard thing, it really is.”
Can Freddie Freeman make it to 3,000 hits?
As Rosenthal notes, Freeman is the current active hits leader with 2,481.
He has 50 hits through the first third of the season, so let’s give him another 100 for the rest of the year.
That puts him at 2,581 — 419 hits short of 3,000.
If he does play three more years after this one, that’s going to require 140 hits per season.
That’s very doable, as he averages 180 hits per year over his career, but it’s by no means a given.
As Freeman told Rosenthal, there’s a chance he’ll step away before he’s unable to play, simply because he wants to be a better dad.
“I’ve always thought Father Time takes you down,” Freeman said. “But I don’t know if it’s Father Time. I think it’s because you miss things with your family and your kids. Maybe that’s the contributing factor to older guys not playing as good.”
Or maybe it’s just the demands of parenting.
“You have four kids. You’re tired all the time. That 98 looks a little bit faster when you’re a little sleepy,” he added.
Either way, Freeman has opened the door to ending his pursuit of history in order to prioritize his family.
Do you think Freddie Freeman will reach 3,000 hits?
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