"Freeman went into his fifth season with the Los Angeles Dodgers carrying three personal goals: to improve defensively at first base from last year, bat .300 and play in all 162 games. His offensive production early was close to meeting that batting average goal but then struggles set in. That prompted Freeman to adjust his batting stance by turning his right foot inward, much like Corey Seager. It was done in mind to prevent his hip from opening, and the results have been more in line with what's typically seen from Freeman."
"“I was in Houston one day, in the morning, and I was like, You know, I can't keep pushing balls to left field,” Freeman recalled. “I've always done little tweaks mentally, externally. I've always done like a hip in. And this time, I just did a foot turn in, to do the same thing. Sometimes you've got to think differently. I went with a foot turn in, and it's worked. I'm not going to try to figure it out, but it's working right now.”"
"After a 3-for-25 slump over the final homestand in April, during which Freeman has explained he was having trouble hitting velocity, the 36-year-old started to find his swing again on the road trip. Freeman went 5-for-13 with one double and one RBI during a weekend series against the St. Louis Cardinals. But after helping the Dodgers salvage it by avoiding a sweep, he remarked to still not being fully comfortable with his swing."
"That brought about the adjustment implemented the day the Dodgers started their series with the Houston Astros. Freeman had back-to-back games with a double, both of which went to the opposite field. A tell-tale sign when the former National League MVP winner is going right. “I'm making better swing decisions. My hip is in a little bit longer, so I can let the ball travel longer, too. So there's a lot more to it, Freeman said of how”"
Freddie Freeman entered his fifth season with goals to improve defensively at first base, bat .300, and play all 162 games. Early offense neared the batting average target, but struggles followed. Freeman changed his batting stance by turning his right foot inward, similar to Corey Seager, to prevent his hip from opening. He described making mental and external tweaks and said the foot turn helped. After a 3-for-25 slump tied to difficulty hitting velocity, he began finding his swing on a road trip, including a 5-for-13 stretch against the St. Louis Cardinals. He still felt not fully comfortable, then made the adjustment during the Dodgers’ series with the Houston Astros, producing back-to-back opposite-field doubles and better swing decisions.
Read at dodgerblue.com
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