"I need more than three months off" - Freddie Freeman lashes out at hectic MLB season following World Series win with Dodgers
World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Freddie Freeman discussed his need for a longer offseason after a long season.
Fresh from his World Series MVP win, Freddie Freeman, on the New Heights podcast hosted by NFL legends, the Kelce brothers, discussed managing his workload.
About the upcoming 2025 schedule, Freeman said that players get into a particular mindset ahead of the season and accept that the regular season is long drawn out.
"Everyone knows their bodies pretty well, so whatever you have to do to get your body ready, you just do it. And you just kind of think about everything else later. And yeah, 162 games is a lot. I never really thought about it, you know? You just do it. You know, like it's... you just wake up and go," Freeman said. [32:08]
Travis Kelce added that 162 games are limited only for the regular season, beyond which teams who qualify for the postseason have to play more games.
Freddie Freeman responded that it shortens the rest the players get in between seasons. He added that the three months of rest World Series winners get is not enough.
"I played probably over 210 games this year. You know, it's... and now you get a couple months. We played all the way through October, and so now our offseason's even shorter because we have to go to Japan next year. And I mean, spring training's in three months for us and it's just like, 'Wait a second, yeah, I need more than that. I need more than three months off,'" Freeman added. [32:40]
Freddie Freeman dismisses prospect of MLB going further international
In conjunction to his comments about the schedule, the Kelce brothers also quizzed Freeman about the possibility of baseball's top league expanding to Europe or other parts of the world.
The 2021 NL MVP said that the travel time between the games makes it impossible to have a team outside North America, currently.
"I think we'll ultimately be like, a couple games here and there in different countries to grow the game, which I think we're doing a great job of. Hell yeah, to have a team in England, I just don't think it's really possible because of the travel," Freeman said. [33:47]
The Dodgers start their 2025 regular season with a trip to Tokyo where they face the Chicago Cubs for the Japan Series with games on March 18 and 19.