Freddie Freeman has had to deal with more than just a nagging ankle injury during the Dodgers’ run to a World Series championship. The Dodgers star also secretly played throughout the playoffs despite suffering a broken rib cartilage, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Thursday, a day after the Dodgers beat the Yankees 7-6 in Game 5 to win the MLB championship. Freeman was named World Series Most Valuable Player as he battled hard against the Yanks and made a little history in the process.

Freeman discovered that he had broken the costal cartilage in his sixth rib just days before the start of the Dodgers’ NLDS series against the Padres. Freeman felt this problem during a live batting practice session and couldn’t even get up from the ground on his own because of the pain. Ultimately, multiple tests discovered the problem and Freeman’s father, Fred, even begged his son not to play. The 2024 season marked a number of issues for Freeman including injuries and off-field worries regarding the health of his son, Max – it was a truly difficult year at times. After the World Series victory, Freeman said in the press room at Yankee Stadium that he learned a lot about himself this year.