Freddie Freeman channeled his inner Kirk Gibson in World Series Game 1

In Game 1 of the 1988 World Series against the Oakland Athletics, an injured Kirk Gibson, who could barely walk, let alone run the bases, faced Dennis Eckersley. After battling an eight-pitch at-bat, Gibson launched a walk-off two-run home run to give the Dodgers the lead early in the series.

Flash forward 36 years later, Freddie Freeman, managing to play through a sprained ankle, capped off the Dodgers' heroics against Nestor Cortes by hitting a walk-off grand slam, the first in World Series history. The Dodgers now hold an early 1-0 series advantage over the New York Yankees in the 2024 Fall Classic.

Entering the World Series, Freeman had become an offensive player, recording seven hits in 33 plate appearances in the NLDS and NLCS. None of those hits resulted in extra bases.

So it was a surprise that Freeman, four weeks removed from his initial ankle injury, had to miss a three-pointer with one leg after the rebound bounced off the left field wall off left fielder Alex Verdugo. For a player who had struggled to even touch first base on routine groundouts in the previous round, it was a sigh of relief to see him with his usual agility.

“Last week was really good for me. “The first time I ran was when I ran out to give my teammates high-fives as we introduced ourselves,” Freeman said after Game 1. “I tried running this week so far to prevent it as much as possible and treat it as best as possible.” So I felt pretty good today.”

Unfortunately, the Dodgers were unable to capitalize on Freeman's triple in the first inning as Teoscar Hernández offered Anthony Volpe at shortstop to end the inning.

The Dodgers' hits were sparse against the Yankees, but most of them went for extra bases, including a triple by Freeman and a double by Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani's double was a big win for the Dodgers, who were slowly coming back, as Mookie Betts' sacrifice fly scored Ohtani and tied the game in the eighth inning.

The Dodgers managed to line up two men in a row against reliever Jake Cousins ​​before Yankees manager Aaron Boone opted to start Nestor Cortes, who had been sidelined since September 18, against the Dodgers' big three.

A pitch to Shohei Ohtani was all Cortes needed to put the Yankees within one point of winning Game 1. Up, Mookie Betts came to the plate with two hitters and two hitters.

Remember when the Boston Red Sox intentionally walked Betts in July to load the bases for Freddie Freeman? The Yankees should have remembered how that worked out for Boston.

Freeman, just as he did against Boston reliever Brian Bernardino, saved the game for the Dodgers by hitting a grand slam off a left-handed reliever, this time in walk-off fashion, to give the Dodgers their first World Series victory since Game 3 the 2018 World Series at home.

In the last 50 World Series games, there have only been three walk-off home runs in Game 1 of the World Series. Gibson was the first to do so in 1988, and last season the Texas Rangers' Adolis Garcia was eliminated in Game 1 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Now, when his team asked him to step up in the biggest situation of the season, Freeman responded in the greatest way.

It's a huge relief that Freeman is near full strength for the World Series, because if that ankle had prevented him from getting his swing right, that grand slam would have resulted in the game being tied in the finale. It also allows Teoscar Hernández, a borderline .200 hitter this postseason, to avoid having to handle duties at the top of the Dodgers' line, while the bottom third of the lineup can also feature playoff x-factors like Tommy Edman .

With the Dodgers now just three wins away from achieving their ultimate goal, having a full-strength freeman is a huge advantage for a team plagued by injuries this postseason. In the 1988 World Series, Gibson's walk-off home run was the only time he led off. This year, Freeman will have numerous opportunities to appear as the series continues.