The Los Angeles Dodgers voted Freddie Freeman the winner of the 17th annual Roy Campanella Award, which is given to one player from the franchise who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership of the late Hall of Fame catcher.
Freeman joins Rafael Furcal (2006) and Jamey Carroll (2010) as the only first-year Dodgers to receive the honor. Last season the award went to Chris Taylor.
A winner for the Roy Campanella Award is voted on by Dodgers uniformed personnel (players and coaches). Within the organization it is also known as the “Most Inspirational Dodger” Award.
Campanella’s daughter, Joni Campanella Roan, and his grandson, JT Campanella, will present Freeman with the award during a pregame ceremony on Tuesday.
Freeman’s first season with the Dodgers has been nothing short of remarkable both on an individual level and from the team’s perspective. The Dodgers have set a new franchise wins record, and he already has a career high in hits and is on the verge of reaching 200 for the season while also winning a batting title for the first time.
“It’s a pretty good first season, huh? It’s cool,” Freeman said of the Dodgers breaking the franchise wins record.
“Once October 11 hits, nobody is going to care how many wins you had in the regular season. That’s the big thing. But we’re here in the regular season, so we might as well get as many wins as we possibly can. You’ve got to play good baseball from start to finish to accomplish something like this, and we’ve been doing it.”
Freeman was in the Dodgers lineup for every game until the day after they clinched the National League West title. The 33-year-old has repeatedly stated he not only feels a sense of pride but also a responsibility to play each game.
Freddie freeman joins Dodgers history of Roy Campanella Award winners
Rafael Furcal received the inaugural Roy Campanella Award in 2006 and since then the honor has gone to Russell Martin (2007), James Loney (2008), Juan Pierre (2009), Jamey Carroll (2010), Matt Kemp (2011), A.J. Ellis (2012), Clayton Kershaw (2013-14), Zack Greinke (2015), Chase Utley (2016, 2018), Justin Turner (2017, 2019-20) and Chris Taylor (2021).
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