It started as a routine pop-up.
It ended in a frightening –– but, as of now, benign –– scene.
In the top of the eighth inning on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, first baseman Freddie Freeman was tracking a pop-up in foul ground when he lost his footing at the edge of the visiting dugout and went tumbling straight down a flight of stairs.
Immediately, concern descended from all parts of the ballpark.
Several of Freeman’s Dodgers teammates came racing over to his aid. Several more Kansas City Royals players also leapt off the bench to check on the former MVP.
For several moments, with Freeman out of sight below the concrete overhang, the entirety of the crowd also seemed to be holding its breath.
“It’s definitely scary,” shortstop Mookie Betts said. “Anybody going down like that is.”
Alas, Freeman finally got back to his feet and re-emerged on the field –– getting seranded with chants of “Fredd-ie! Fredd-ie!” as he returned to his position and played out the rest of the inning.
“I didn’t hit my head, so that was the key part there,” Freeman said afterward, hopeful he avoided any serious injury.
“I am sore,” he added. “Kneecaps are sore, shoulder is sore, hand is sore, wrist is sore. I mean, I fell. But I’m in good spirits. I’ve already cold-tubbed. I’ve done everything I needed to do to put myself in a position to be able to hopefully play tomorrow.”
Freeman did not finish Wednesday’s game.
Once he returned to the dugout between innings, he proceeded to the clubhouse for further evaluation and was pinch-hit for in the bottom half of the frame in the Dodgers’ eventual 4-2 win.
That, however, he described as more of a precaution.
“When the adrenaline started to wear off, I kind of motioned in [to the dugout] like, ‘Hey guys, you guys might need to hit for me. It’s getting sore,’” Freeman said.
Still, he reiterated, “I should be OK.”
Added manager Dave Roberts: “We really dodged the bullet.”
