The veteran first baseman got injured on one of the final days of the regular season, but rushed back to play in the postseason.
At 35 years old, he is spending hours each day going through treatment and then gutting through the games because the left-handed hitter and former Gold Glover has won a World Series before and knows he can help his team be the last one standing.
Of course, the two need no introduction after playing against each other plenty of times throughout their careers, with Rizzo even having struck out Freeman during a 2021 game between the Cubs and Braves.
But now the Yankee with two fractured fingers and the Dodger with a badly sprained ankle are set to cross paths again on the biggest stage of them all when the World Series begins on Friday at Dodger Stadium.
“We talked before the division series a couple weeks ago,” Rizzo said Wednesday on a Zoom call before the Yankees flew to Los Angeles. “He battles. He’s a gamer and he’s putting it all on the line for his team and I wouldn’t expect anything less from him. He’s a world champion as well. He’s so respected in our game, rightfully so. It’ll be fun to share the field with him on the World Series stage. We’ve played against each other a lot throughout our careers, pretty much the same timeline. So it’ll be fun to look across at first and see him there.”
Both Rizzo and Freeman say they have benefitted from these days off leading up to the World Series, with the Yankees having wrapped up the ALCS on Saturday and the Dodgers doing the same with the NLCS on Sunday.
They are both expected to be starting Game 1 and then see how they hold up from there.
Rizzo, who did not make it back in time to be on the ALDS, has started four of five playoff games while Freeman, who returned for the NLDS, has started in eight of 11 games for the Dodgers.
“The biggest thing is just getting the swelling out between games,” Rizzo said. “It really blows up just from the pressure. The bones are still broken, but just to be able to get the swelling out has been key. Hopefully throughout the series we’ll be able to manage it the best we can.
For the Yankees, Rizzo’s value looms large. He is one of only two players on the roster to have won a World Series (along with Juan Soto) and one of only three to have even played in a Fall Classic (Gerrit Cole’s Astros lost to Soto’s Nationals in 2019).
Teammates have asked Rizzo what it was like to win it all with the Cubs in 2016. Austin Wells said Rizzo has been talking about it since the postseason started and “how it’s such a different level of ball.” Rizzo said the preparation for World Series games is no different, even if the stakes are much higher.
“You’re in the moment, so you live and die by every moment,” Rizzo said. “You’re with the guys and the experience, you have memories for a lifetime with the guys you’re with.”
Despite the broken fingers, Rizzo played an important role in making sure the Yankees got to the World Series, going 6-for-14 (.429) with two walks and a 1.000 OPS during the ALCS.
Manager Aaron Boone admitted he did not expect his at-bats to be as good as they were, but like Freeman, Rizzo is finding a way.
“I was expecting to contribute,” said Rizzo, who has a career 1.476 OPS against Dodgers Game 1 starter Jack Flaherty. “Towards the end of the year, I felt really good with my swing, where I was at mechanically. I was a little nervous with the hand, just getting the right chemistry going for it I guess. But as far as going out and playing, these are the best moments to play for.
“This is what you dream of and this is what you prepare for. So when the crowd’s loud and everything’s going crazy, that’s, I feel like, when I settle down the most.”
