In the bottom on the 10th inning, the New York Yankees were leading the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2. The Dodgers had runners on 2nd and 3rd base. Yankees manager Aaron Boone decided to intentionally walk Mookie Betts to load the bases. Then at 8:37 PM PST, first baseman Freddie Freeman came up to bat and faced pitcher Nestor Cortes.
The rest is history. Click the image below to watch the video.
Freeman hit a 409-foot home in the right center field seats. The stadium’s 52,394 fans erupted. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in this article from The Athletic, “(That) might be the greatest baseball moment I’ve ever witnessed.” Freeman had entered baseball immortality.
The backstory to this historic home run is filled with leadership lessons. The following are just seven:
7 Leadership Lessons from Los Angeles Dodgers Freddie Freeman World Series Game 1 Walk-Off Home Run
1. Leaders Continually Face Unexpected Challenges
On September 26th, Freeman suffered a bone bruise and badly sprained ankle. It was the latest of numerous challenges he had faced during the 2024 season.
2. Some Challenges Appear To Have No Solutions
Have you ever faced a challenge which would seem to never end? This particular ankle injury afflicted Freeman for weeks, even keeping him out of the pennant-winning game against the Mets several weeks later.
3. Leaders Need The Support Of Others To Overcome Challenges
Over the next 29 days, Freeman received the support from numerous others to get back on the field to deliver his historic home run.
Hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc began working with Freeman to adjust his stance so he could get comfortable and generate more power in his swing. He said, “Just been doing a lot of work, staying flat-footed, trusting staying connected to the ground and kind of retraining that.”
Van Scoyoc’s assistance was mechanical. His teammates provided a different type of support on the field.
Pitcher Jack Flaherty said, “Freddie is unbelievable. What he has done day in and day out to try to play. And then to be able to understand certain days, like I’m not at my best and somebody else should probably play today, that’s probably the hardest thing to do.”
4. Defining Moments Require Leaders To Be Persistent
Kike Hernandez said, “He’s doing something that is basically heroic to put himself in a position to even be available.”
Freeman faced significant frustration and disappointment as he tried to get back on the field. In his first 32 at-bats after injuring his ankle, he had only seven singles. No extra base hits.
5. Defining Moments Require Leaders To Be Resilient
Leaders must first win the mental battle. With Van Scoyoc’s assistance, Freeman had to retrain his mind to deliver a different type of swing.
The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya wrote, “They settled on a mental cue. Rather than think about his front leg stepping toward the plate as the pitcher delivered the ball, Freeman thought to step out. In doing so, the right foot stayed in its proper location but his back leg remained planted longer.”
6. The Value Of Trust
There were several areas needed in the area of trust for Freeman’s home run to become a reality. They included the following:
- Dave Roberts trusted Freddie Freeman to deliver winning results.
- Freeman trusted his right ankle would support him.
- Freeman trusted his adjusted swing.
- Freeman trusted his training.
- Freeman trusted his ability to execute under pressure.
If you want to accomplish anything significant, you will also need to trust your training and ability to execute under pressure.
7. The Power Of Dreams
This may be the most important lesson of all.
Freeman concluded, “When you’re 5 years old with your two older brothers and you’re playing Wiffle ball in the backyard, those are the scenarios you dream about, two outs, bases loaded in a World Series game. For it to actually happen and get a home run and walk it off to give us a 1-0 lead, that’s as good as it gets right there.”
No matter how old you are, you should always have dreams. You never know which ones will come true. What are you dreaming for today?
***BONUS*** God Often Has A Different Plan
My friend Coach Keith Madison of SCORE International wrote the following this morning:
“The pre-game hype was all about Ohtani, Judge and Sosa, but the panel of baseball experts didn’t know the end of the story. Freddie Freeman would be the one to hit a walk-off grand slam in extra innings to win game one of the World Series for his team, the L.A. Dodgers.
We think we might know what direction our lives will go. People close to us predict and we develop a personal vision for our lives, but many times, God has a different plan. When we execute His plan for His purpose, we usually look back on our lives in amazement. God’s plan is always better than ours. Follow Him.”
“…being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 1:6)
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