Freeman finding his groove
Mike Freeman is playing for his third team in less than a year, but the utility player is in form with the Dodgers and is reunited with Brock Stewart, his college roommate’s older brother.
Mike Freeman is getting back to his old self.
A third organization in less than a year can be taxing, and Freeman felt that.
He struggled at the plate. He struggled to stay on the field.
“I have played this game long enough to know that you could be here in one place and the next somewhere else, so that certainly happened,” Freeman said. “It definitely takes a toll. I just got to get adjusted walking into the clubhouse.”
Now in his second month with Oklahoma City, Freeman has found the form that helped lead to multiple stints in the major leagues. He entered Friday’s game with Nashville at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark with six multi-hit games in his last nine starts.
And he’s also rejoined with a familiar face.
Freeman played his freshman year of college at Georgia, where he was roommates with Luke Stewart, the younger brother of OKC pitcher Brock Stewart.
Last weekend — before Brock Stewart was briefly promoted to Los Angeles — Freeman and Brock Stewart were roommates in Colorado Springs.
“It is just one of the small-world things,” Freeman said. “I said, ‘Brock, this is crazy. Me and your brother were roommates like 10 years ago and now were are roommates on the road.’ It’s funny how this game came full circle.”
Freeman, 29, has remained close friends with Luke Stewart, who is now the assistant hitting coach at Northern Illinois.
That allowed him to track Brock’s career path.
They ran into each other last season when Freeman was part of Triple-A Reno. They exchanged numbers and kept in touch as both made the big leagues.
They never planned on being teammates.
“It’s cool,” Stewart said. “I’ve known Mike probably longer than anybody else I’ve known on the team.”
Freeman still struggled out of the gate with OKC.
He opened 3 for 21. But he’s since raised his average to .316 while playing shortstop, third base, second base and outfield.
“He’s a gritty player,” OKC manager Bill Haselman said. “You know he’s going to come around. You don’t worry about those guys too much.”