World Series champ dishes on influence Freddie Freeman's dad has on Dodgers star

The Dodgers are up 3-0 in the World Series

AJ Pierzynski talks the influence of Freddie Freeman's father

Former MLB star A.J. Pierzynski talks Freddie Freeman's power surge amid the Los Angeles Dodgers' World Series run on OutKick's "Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich."

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman has, thus far, been fantastic in the World Series against the New York Yankees. 

Freeman is a big reason why the Dodgers are up 3-0, as the 35-year-old has hit a home run in each game in the series, none bigger than the walk-off grand slam he hit in Game 1. 

After hitting the first ever walk-off grand slam in World Series history, Freeman dedicated the moment to his father. 

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Freddie Freeman celebrates

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, #5, celebrates after hitting a grand slam home run in the 10th inning against the New York Yankees during game one of the 2024 World Series at Dodger Stadium. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images)

"My swing is because of him, my approach is because of him, I am who I am because of him… I just wanted to share that with him because he’s been there. He’s been through a lot in his life too, and just to have a moment like that, I just wanted to be a part of that with him in that moment," Freeman said during his postgame press conference. 

One of Freeman’s former teammates, two-time all-star A.J. Pierzynski, joined OutKick’s "Don’t @ Me With Dan Dakich" to talk about the influence Freeman’s father has on him. 

"I played with Freddie for two years. He would be in a slump, he’d be like ‘Oh, Fred’s coming in, I’ll be fixed’ and sure enough, his dad would come in and talk to him. I don’t know what they talked about, I don’t know if they did some Voodoo, I don’t know what they did, but all of the sudden Freddie would be back man," Pierzynski said.

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AJ Pierzynski doubles

Former Chicago White Sox catcher AJ Pierzynski, #12, talked about Freddie Freeman during a recent appearance on OutKicks "Dont @ Me With Dan Dakich." (Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports)

"We’d go to LA, he’d be struggling, Fred would come in, they go to dinner, lunch, whatever, hang out and the next thing you know, Freddie is hitting homers. So whatever Fred Freeman, his dad has, must be pretty special because he gets Freddie right."

Freeman certainly looks "right" at the plate right now despite playing through an ankle injury.

"(Freeman) wants to play every day, he wants to play 162, he wants to play every inning and to do what he is doing on a bad ankle. Now listen, the best thing that happened to him is he got that week off in between the LCS and the World Series, and it really got him healed up, and he looks much better, but Freddie Freeman is a stud in the World Series. He’s a stud in the regular season, he’s got an MVP, he’s got a World Series locked up already, he’s going for two here, he's a surefire Hall of Famer in my book," Pierzynski said.

Freddie Freeman celebrates

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, #5, celebrates with teammates after hitting a grand slam home run in the 10th inning against the New York Yankees during game one of the 2024 World Series at Dodger Stadium. (Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)

Pierzynski thinks some of Freeman’s toughness comes from his Canadian roots. 

"I mean he’s a Canadian, he’s a hockey player at heart. You know he grew up in Southern California, we used to make fun of him. He’s like ‘I know I’m Canadian, I’m tough’, I’m like, dude you grew up in Newport coast down there in Anaheim, let’s not get crazy."

Freeman’s Dodgers will have the chance to win the World Series on Tuesday when they take on the Yankees at 8:08 p.m. ET on FOX. 

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Ryan Canfield is a digital production assistant for Fox News Digital.

Authored by Ryan Canfield via FoxNews October 29th 2024