With a 9-6 win last night, the Braves wrapped up a two game split in the series against the Colorado Rockies, bringing their record against Colorado up to 6-2 on the season. While the Braves have clearly had Colorado’s number so far in 2011, Freddie Freeman has been the Rockies killer.
In this most recent series, the 21-year-old first baseman went 7-18 with two homers and four RBI’s. In only eight games against Colorado this season, Freeman has gone 14-32 (.438) with six homers and eleven RBI’s. Normal rookies just don’t put up those kind of numbers.
[caption id="attachment_178" align="aligncenter" width="442" caption="Rookie First Baseman Freddie Freeman celebrates after a home run with teammate Dan Uggla (Photo by HYOSUB SHIN / Atlanta Journal-Constitution)"]
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An easy cop out would be attributing those ridiculous numbers to the hitter-friendly ballpark of Coors Field. Half of the games have been at the Rock’s Coors Field, which used to be known as a hitter’s heaven because of the dry and thin air, but since the introduction of the humidor, the baseball fly just like in any other ballpark.
There are, however, a few plausible reasons for Freddie Freeman’s success against the Rockies. For starters, Colorado’s pitching staff has been struggling. Not to undermine Freeman’s achievements, but the Rockies rank 23rd in the MLB with a 4.14 team ERA. They say hitting is contagious and the Braves have made the Rockies hurlers look like that of a AAA team’s.
It is difficult to attribute Freeman’s success against Colorado to only one reason. His success in the month of July, however, is all about confidence. With his play so far this season it is easy to forget that he is a 21-year-old kid adjusting to his first full year at the Major League level. Over the course of a 162 game regular season, you go through a lot not only physically, but also mentally. Freeman seems to be finding his groove in the month of July as he is working longer counts and driving the ball with more power and consistency. Let’s just hope that this Freddie Freeman stays around for a little bit longer.
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