Copyright CBS Sports
The Cooperstown case for Freddie Freeman is getting to the point where we're safe to start calling him a "future Hall of Famer." The 12 years with the Braves carry a ton of weight here, but is there a chance his Dodgers credentials will leave him with a blank Hall of Fame cap on his plaque? First off, a quick rundown of the case. Freeman right now has 2,431 hits, 547 doubles, 367 home runs, 1,322 RBI, 1,379 runs, 104 stolen bases and is a .300/.386/.511 (142 OPS+) hitter. He's won an MVP, has three Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove. He's accumulated 64.2 WAR so far, good for 15th all-time among first basemen, just 0.3 behind Willie McCovey and ahead of Hall of Famers like Todd Helton, Harmon Killebrew, Bill Terry, Hank Greenberg, David Ortiz, George Sisler, Tony Perez and Fred McGriff, among a few others. Given his postseason credentials, which includes three World Series rings, a walk-off grand slam, a series with four homers and 12 RBI in five games (winning World Series MVP) and another walk-off home run, he should be in right now. If you aren't convinced because some of the counting stats falling short, keep in mind he's heading to his age-36 season and just hit .295/.367/.502 in 147 games. He's under contract through 2027. He has plenty left in the tank. As of now, Freeman's Hall of Fame plaque should have a Braves logo. He played for the Braves for 12 years compared to four with the Dodgers. More than 1,700 of his hits were with the Braves compared to 727 with the Dodgers. He hit 271 home runs with Atlanta and 96 so far for with Los Angeles. His WAR with the Braves more than doubles his 21.2 with the Dodgers. His postseason legend, however, is mostly Dodgers moments. His 2024 performance is one of the best all-time in a single World Series and they might not win the 2025 World Series without his home run in Game 3. That walk-off grand slam is the only one of its kind in the World Series. Freeman is signed for two more years with the Dodgers, which would make it 12 years vs. six. What if he continues to play at a very high level and the Dodgers win another ring or two while Freeman creates more signature moments? Does his Cooperstown plaque suddenly look different? Here's how a cap choice is made: "The Hall of Fame provides guidance to each new inductee as to which logo, if any, may be represented on the cap of his plaque," Jon Shestakofsky, Baseball Hall of Fame vice president of communications and content, previously told CBS Sports. "While the Hall of Fame has the final say as to which logo is depicted, we work with the electee to reach an appropriate conclusion that accurately reflects the new electee's career in the game. All teams, however, are listed in the text of the plaque." He'll almost never certainly match his time spent in Atlanta, but could Freeman's Dodgers value be high enough that he, in conjunction with the Hall of Fame, elects to go in with a blank cap? Precedent suggests it's possible. Here are a few blank cap guys: Sure, Greg Maddux spent parts of 10 seasons with the Cubs and 11 with the Braves, but he racked up 194 wins and 66.2 WAR with Atlanta compared to 133 and 33.7 with Chicago. Nearly all his postseason value was with the Braves. Mike Mussina spent 10 years with the Orioles and eight with the Yankees. He clearly had more value and counting stats with the Orioles, but a lot more playoff credentials with the Yankees. Roy Halladay played for the Blue Jays for 12 years, earning 148 wins and 48.4 WAR. With the Phillies, it was just four years, 55 wins and 17 WAR. He won one Cy Young with each team. He threw a no-hitter in the playoffs for the Phillies and never appeared with Toronto. Catfish Hunter was with the Athletics for 10 years and Yankees for five. He won 161 games for the A's along with a Cy Young and three rings. In five years with the Yankees, he won 63 games and two rings. Hopping in the wayback machine for a second, Johnny Evers played 12 years for the Cubs, grabbing 39.5 of his career 47.7 WAR. He spent five years with the Braves and won an MVP there. He has a blank cap. On paper, Freeman has so much more service time and accrued value with the Braves that it should be an easy choice, but that's clearly not how it always goes. Freeman still has two years with the Dodgers on this contract and it's possible he signs another with them (though the DH spot belonging to Ohtani might put a damper on this thought eventually). I'd say as of right now Freeman would have a Braves logo on that cap, but moving into blank logo territory is certainly on the table.
