Despite Braves exit, loyalty is everything to Freddie Freeman

It’s what brought him to baseball. It kept him happy with the Atlanta Braves and it ended up being what brought Freddie Freeman home to Los Angeles.

Loyalty and home are important to Freddie Freeman.

When the Orange County native lost his mother at age 10, Freeman found a home on the baseball field at El Modena High School and coach Steve Bernard.

Bernard was an important figure to Freeman and his older brother Andrew. Freeman said that Bernard was not only his coach on the field but also a lifelong mentor.

Freeman told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya, “[Bernard] is just a caring and loving man that didn’t care about the baseball player Freddie, just cared about the person Freddie. In my life, that’s all I care about.”

He found in Bernard a mentor that encouraged his love of baseball. When Freeman was feeling down, Bernard would bring solace with this simple message: “This is your sanctuary. This field is where you go to get away from all the things that bother you. Just go out there and enjoy the game.”

Home is where the heart is for Freddie Freeman

Freeman developed a loyalty to Bernard and to the game.

It could be said that loyalty to the game is what kept Freeman happy for many years with the Atlanta Braves. But once it became real that free agency would take him away from what became home in Atlanta, it was natural to come back to his real home in Southern California with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In previous trips from Atlanta to Los Angeles, Freeman told Ardaya he would step off the plane in Southern California, close his eyes and take in a deep breath of the air.

He knew he was home. Where he could just be Freddie, the person. Not just Freddie, the baseball player.

Freeman takes the field at Dodger Stadium Thursday evening for the first time as a Dodger on Opening Night. He will be home. In front of friends and family – including Bernard. A perk he never had in Atlanta. A perk that will obviously have a lot of meaning for the baseball player. And the person.

Freddie the baseball player is home. Freddie the person will be thrilled.

And that is everything.