Freddie Freeman's miracle World Series run was even tougher than Dodgers fans thought

Freddie Freeman's miracle run through the World Series this year is almost inevitably going to be mentioned in all of the speeches during his similarly inevitable Hall of Fame induction. Although you can never count him out completely, the rolled ankle he was playing on when the postseason started was enough to cast doubt.

Through four games of the NLDS and four in the NLCS, he'd gone homer-less with just one RBI, and his batting average had dipped to .219. The Dodgers were still winning, but when it was time for the World Series, it looked like they might have to do it without much of his help.

The walk-off grand slam in Game 1 changed everything. Through the rest of series, he became the first player to hit a home run in the first four games of the World Series, and his six consecutive games with a homer in the World Series (dating back to his 2021 run with the Braves) set an MLB record.

He did all of that on a rolled ankle and, a new Jeff Passan article for ESPN revealed, broken cartilage in his rib, which was identified on Oct. 4, the day before the first game of the LDS.

But he vowed to play on. Per Passan, Freeman's father Fred said, "I actually told him to stop. I said, 'Freddie, this is not worth it. I know you love baseball. I love baseball. But it's not worth what you're going through.' And he looked at me like I was crazy, and he said, 'Dad, I'm never going to stop.'"

Emotional Freddie Freeman column will make Dodgers fans love him even more

Passan noted a rib injury like Freeman's could keep a player out for months, and that was on top of the ankle injury with a typical 4-6 week recovery timeline. So he was completely battered with two separate injuries throughout the entire month of October, but he refused to quit on his team and was rewarded with a World Series MVP trophy. Not too shabby.

In a faraway alternate universe, he let both injuries sideline him through the postseason. The Dodgers still might've made it to the World Series, but their odds were far worse.

If Freeman can only be remembered for a single moment in time, it'll be that walk-off grand slam. The Dodgers are so lucky to have him.