It’s certainly fun to have live team sports back. Despite some issues relating to the Miami Marlins, the first few days of the 2020 MLB season has gone off without much of a hitch as it relates to the ongoing pandemic.
There’s a backdrop to this, too. Multiple players are taking to the diamond after recovering from COVID-19 in recent weeks. That includes Atlanta Braves star first baseman Freddie Freeman.
Freeman, 30, opened up recently about his battle with the virus. At one point, the four-time All-Star spent a night praying that the virus wouldn’t take him from this life. That’s how bad it was.
After struggling to a 2-for-14 start to the season, Freeman finally broke out Wednesday evening against the Tampa Bay Rays. It came on a 398-foot two-run homer against Charlie Morton in the bottom of the third to give Atlanta a 2-0 lead.
As you can see, Rays outfielder Hunter Renfroe barely moved as the ball cleared the right field fence.
Less important than players battling the virus, it’s also significant to see how these individuals perform once they are cleared from COVID-19.
Freeman was hitting at a .143 clip in five games prior to this third-inning at-bat. He has hit no lower than .295 in any of the past four seasons.