Chipper Jones weighs in on Freddie Freeman leaving the Atlanta Braves

Former Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman dominates the World Series. He is the clear front-runner for series MVP. However, his run brings back some emotions from when he left Atlanta in free agency back into the fray.

Another notable former Brave chimed in when he overheard the chatter.

It started when Jeff Schultz, former Braves writer for The Athletic, tweeted about Freeman's fourth home run of the World Series on Tuesday night.

“He’s too old.”
“He’ll slip.”
“He’s not worth the contract.”

While the tweet is vague at first glance, the implications are pretty obvious. Letting Freeman walk was a mistake.

Someone quoted him on Twitter pointing out that Freeman decided to leave, and someone else tried to point out that Freeman's agent was the reason.

This points to a controversy that arose after Freeman's first game in Atlanta with the Dodgers. He fired his agent after that weekend series because Freeman was unhappy with how his free agency was shaping up.

His former agent reportedly handled the matter in a way that prevented Freeman from re-signing in Atlanta. The former agent has denied this.

This is where Chipper Jones came into play.

“The agent works for him, not the other way around,” he replied.

After the person he was replying to showed him a screenshot of an article by Colin Cowherd discussing Freeman's agents, Jones decided he wasn't going to hear him. He defended the former agent and pointed out that Freeman could have stayed with the Braves if he had wanted to.

He also took the opportunity to defend first baseman Matt Olson, who has largely proven himself as Freeman's successor. He pointed out that everyone has a selective memory of how they handled the situation over the past two years.

Jones' response has been edited for clarity and the original tweet is embedded below.

“No excuses… as a player you play where you want to play.” [The] Agent works for the player. Any miscommunication is the player's fault. No deal will be signed or rejected without the player's consent. Period. But hey, I'm happy for Freddie. In the long run it worked out for him and he and his family are happy in LA. So let it go and move on. When [Matt Olson] Reach 50-plus [home runs] Last year I never heard Freddie's name. Now [Freeman] shows up on American television in the WS and people are bitter. [The] Folks, the script could flip in 11 months. [Freeman] doesn't play here anymore…[Olson] does. Be glad you still have a quality first baseman. Go boldly!”

Jones played for the Braves throughout his career from 1993 to 2012. He was an eight-time All-Star, NL MVP in 1999, received MVP votes in 13 total seasons and was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2018.

Freeman signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to the 2022 season following the Braves' World Series championship season. Olson was acquired from the Oakland Athletics in a trade that same offseason.

During the 2024 World Series, Freeman hit four home runs in four games – one in each game. He is currently slashing .313/.353/1.188.