Freddie Freeman’s big response when Nats intentionally hit him

Wednesday’s game between the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals could easily have derailed and turned into a hostile beanball game. But fans can thank Freddie Freeman for putting a stop to this.

Tensions erupted somewhat in Tuesday’s Braves victory when closest Will Smith hit Nationals star Juan Soto with a pitch. Smith and Soto have a certain history, and Soto wasn’t happy to be hit there. Given baseball’s absurd unwritten rules, retaliation felt inevitable. And the way Nats starter Sean Nolin handled that task might have been enough to spark a bench cleanup incident.

Nolin threw his first throw high and behind Freeman. The next pitch hit the Braves star, and Nolin was kicked out because, well, it was obvious. You can’t get two attempts there.

Sean Nolin tries to hit Freddie Freeman, misses him, hits him on the second try and is excluded from the game. pic.twitter.com/90zMXzFubw

– Major League GIF (@MajorLeagueGIFs) September 8, 2021

But look how Freeman responded. He cooled the tensions with great sportsmanship.

Faces of their respective franchises, also great human beings. Juan Soto and Freddie Freeman talk about it after both being hit by ground in the past 24 hours pic.twitter.com/V6hsLcvPcK

– Washington DC Sports News (@DCSportsNews365) 9 septembre 2021

After Freeman was forced out on second, he shared a hug and a chat with Soto. Freeman then went to the Nationals canoe to chat with Dave Martinez. Freeman obviously wasn’t happy with how Nolin needed two shots to try and hit him, but he also told Martinez how Smith told the team he didn’t want to hit Soto. It helped everyone put the incident behind them.

“I totally understand. This is the game of baseball. I just didn’t like the fact that it was twice. You can’t do two. ”

– Freddie Freeman on Round One drama pic.twitter.com/ldmtY9ZTla

– Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) 9 septembre 2021

Fans loved the way Freeman handled the situation.