Despite presence of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, sportscaster names Dodgers' $162M star as pitcher’s worst nightmare in MLB

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani have been among the most dominant hitters in MLB. Last season, Judge helped lead the Yankees to the World Series, while Ohtani was a force throughout the Dodgers' 2024 championship-winning campaign.

However, despite the star power of Judge and Ohtani, sportscaster Chris Rose believes another Dodgers player is the one pitchers fear the most, especially in clutch situations. Speaking on the JM Baseball Podcast alongside former MLB player Trevor Plouffe, Rose said (starts at 23:35):

“I think Shohei's teammate (Freddie Freeman) would be more… I wanted to talk a little bit about him. He had seven hits in this four-game series. He went four for four on Mother's Day. And many of us know the story about Freddie Freeman. Lost her as a teenager. Uh, it's the reason he wears long sleeves. Regardless of if it's a billion degrees outside because of skin cancer.”

Freddie Freeman, who wears long sleeves even in scorching heat to honor his late mother, continued the tradition during Sunday’s Mother’s Day game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Freeman delivered a standout performance, recording four hits, scoring two runs, and driving in three RBIs in the Dodgers' 8-1 victory.

Further praising Freeman, Chris Rose added:

“I mean, his numbers, he went two weeks without playing almost this year and he is crushing the baseball, dude. He's less than 700 hits away from 3,000. And he told us on Dugout Discussions that is a big big part of this whole thing.”

So far in his career, Freddie Freeman has tallied 2,308 hits, 352 home runs, and 1,265 RBIs, with a .301 career batting average. He has been with the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2022 after signing a six-year, $162 million contract.

Freddie Freeman opens up about his health while recovering from ankle issues

After the 2024 season, Freddie Freeman underwent surgery to repair an injured ankle. He entered the 2025 season playing well for the Dodgers, but after a few games, he slipped in the shower and aggravated the same ankle.

Freeman was placed on the 10-day injured list and returned to action on April 11. Speaking recently about his health, Freeman said (via MLB):

"I’m not 100%, but I feel good. I feel good enough. Back-to-back turf series, being on the basepaths is a lot, a couple day games after night games -- it was a lot. I’m obviously not feeling 100%. But I am feeling good enough out there where I’m not thinking about it."

The Los Angeles Dodgers, currently holding a 27-14 record, are set to face the Athletics at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday.