Freddie Freeman is the Dodgers doubles king

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman doubled in the fifth inning off Nationals right-hander Mason Thompson on Friday, setting a new franchise record with his 53rd double of the season.

Frederick Freeman now has one more double than another Frederick, an outfielder named Johnny Frederick in his rookie season for Brooklyn in 1929. That record stood for over 93 years until Friday in Washington D.C.

There are still 22 games remaining left in the season, and Freeman is on pace for 61 doubles. No major league player has hit 60 doubles in a season since 1936.

Freeman broke the Los Angeles Dodgers record with his 50th double of the season on August 27 against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. On Thursday in Miami, Freeman hit a bloop double behind first base and down the right field line for his 52nd double to tie Frederick.

On that play, the ball attendant down the line did not realize Freeman’s hit was fair and fielded it, then threw the ball into the stands. Umpires conferred on the now-dead ball and ruled that the double would have scored Mookie Betts from first base, awarding Freeman an RBI.

Freeman this season has the two biggest doubles months in Dodgers history, hitting 17 two-baggers in May and 16 more in August. Babe Herman also had a 16-double month for Brooklyn in July 1930. Freeman is one of three Dodgers with a 15-double month, too, doing so in May 2022.

To put Freeman’s May and August this year in perspective, that’s 33 doubles in 57 games. There have only been 100 individual seasons with 33 or more doubles in the 140-year history of the Dodgers franchise.

Freeman’s 53 doubles, coupled with 25 home runs and two triples, give him the ninth season in Dodgers history with 80 extra-base hits.

The Los Angeles record for extra-base hits in a season is 84, shared by Shawn Green (2001) and Cody Bellinger (2019). Counting the Brooklyn years, the franchise record is 94 extra-base hits, by Herman in 1930.

Freeman is on pace for 93 extra-base hits this season.

But this isn’t the only doubles-heavy season for Freeman, who had three seasons of at least 43 doubles while with the Braves, and led the majors with 23 doubles in the 60-game 2020 campaign en route to the National League MVP award. In his first two years in Los Angeles, Freeman has two of the five most-prolific doubles seasons in Dodgers history.

Freeman’s 47 doubles in 2022 were a career high before he surpassed that total this year. He also joined an exclusive club of players with 100 doubles over a two-year span. Freeman is just the 19th player to do so.