Freddie Freeman doesn’t often find himself looking up at anybody. But the Braves first baseman, who stands at nearly 6-foot-5, knew it could happen during the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night.
During the top of the second inning, Fox Sports’ Joe Buck and John Smoltz welcomed Freeman onto their broadcast as one of the mic’d up players. When Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Corbin Burnes was pitching to Aaron Judge, Freeman started to panic.
“Aw geez, if he gets to first base, he is going to make me look so short. Aw geez. Ugh,” Freeman said. “I am just under 6’5″ and I am about to look really, really small here in a second. Yeah, I don’t look up very often. He is potentially going to make me do it.”
When Burnes – who currently holds the MLB record for strikeouts without issuing a walk to start a season with 58 – walked Judge on four pitches, Freeman knew what was coming.
“Oh here we go, gosh darn it. I told them I was going to look short if you got to first base and here we are,” Freeman said to Judge. “Ugh, a couple of guys with perfect teeth though, I know that.”
Baseball fans took to Twitter and offered their thoughts on the special moment.
“I’m not a Braves fan but Freeman is TV gold when he’s mic’ed up,” one fan wrote.
“While I don’t love the uniforms, gimme the in-game mic’d up players all day. Freeman was fun to listen to,” another fan proclaimed.
One fan even offered a solution to Freeman’s troubles: “Come over to the Yankees so you can avoid these situations.”
Freeman, 31, is the reigning National League MVP and appeared in his fifth All-Star game, making his third consecutive start. Judge, the 29-year-old Yankees right fielder, has 140 total home runs in a career that has featured three All-Star Game appearances, a Home Run Derby victory and Rookie of the Year trophy.