Freddie Freeman emotional presser on time with Braves and being back in Atlanta 6/24/22

I don't know all the emotions. It's hard to put into words. I'm just happy to be back. This organization, the people, the media people who have covered my family with grace and love over the last 12 years, it's hard. The fans, since I was 20 years old, the ones that saw me when I was 17 in Gulf Coast League, in Rome, Georgia, 2008, Myrtle Beach in Pearl, Mississippi in 2009, in Gwinnett, everyone helped me be who I am today. Man, I love the Braves organization with all my heart. That will never change. What will it mean to you when you receive your ring and just have it to hold forever? Probably this again. But for me, that World Series ring is more than a ring. I think when you're a kid, all you dream about is making it to the big leagues. It's everyone's dream. And then you get to the big leagues and then you just want to stay. And then when you're lucky and blessed enough to be able to stay, your whole mindset changes. And all you want to do is win. Because no kid thinks about a World Series, they just think about, I want to be in the big leagues. And when you get here and you get to put on a Braves jersey, I'll say 14 and a half years, because I had to put on a Pelicans jersey for half a year. The only thing that matters is winning. And we went through a lot of up and downs in my 12 years. And then we reached the pinnacle last year of winning it all. That ring is just not a ring to me. It's all the sacrifices, all the missed family time, all the hours, the broken wrists, the 14-hour bus rides, the minor leagues, the 4 a.m. get-ins at hotels, the grind every single year to finally win it. There's no better feeling in the sport. And to do it with Snit, Walt, Eric, Walsh, Sal, Rick Kranitz, Alex, Terry, and all those guys in uniform in that clubhouse that are still there and some that aren't, that ring is good. There's nothing better. So that's what I'll be thinking when I get that ring today. Freddy, I'm sure you expected this to be emotional. Did you expect the emotions to hit you this hard? No, I don't think so. I think I've always told you guys how much I love the Braves and this city. And I thought I loved this city and this organization a lot, but I can't tell how much I truly do love this organization and this city. No, I don't even know how I'm going to get through this weekend, guys, to be honest. Freddy, is today the closure you need or will some part of you always have some small regret about not finishing your career as a Brave? I have no regrets and I'm not looking for closure. There's nothing to close for me here. Why would I close such a special time in 15 years, you know, that I spent here? There's for me nothing to close. I think that the regret question is a whole different side of the story that I'm not here to talk about because I think one-on-one with people I've talked to, that's a different side of it because if I got into that, I would be here a long time and that emotion would change big time. So, will that help me stop crying a little bit? Thanks. I think the people that know me know a little bit about what happened a few months ago, so I'm just going to leave it at that. Freddy, first of all, don't worry, allergies have gotten into everybody. You and athletes in general are really good about compartmentalizing things once the game starts. I don't think that's going to work tonight. Bobby, you were able to do it in LA. Why do you think it's different here? Because this is where I walked in every single day. I saw you guys every single day. I drove in today and I saw 14 Freedom 5 jerseys. I never took that for granted. I think I'm crying so much because some of you know all of that what happened. So, it's hard. I don't know if there's going to be compartmentalizing anything about tonight, evening, tomorrow, and Sunday because tomorrow's crowd is going to be a whole different crowd. Sunday's crowd is going to be a whole different crowd too. So, I don't know. I was looking forward to today, but I'm hoping it's Monday soon. Gosh, this is a lot harder than I thought.