World Series: Freddie Freeman wins MVP award after tying record with 12 RBIs for Dodgers

NEW YORK (AP) — When the World Series started, it was hard to figure what Freddie Freeman would be able to provide for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He left no doubt about the MVP winner.

Freeman broke records by homering in the first four games and matched a Fall Classic mark with 12 RBIs to power the Dodgers past the New York Yankees for their second championship in five years.

“That means there was a lot of my teammates on base,” Freeman said after being presented with the World Series MVP award, named in honor of Willie Mays. “I'm glad I was able to get hot at the right time.”

The popular slugger delivered yet again Wednesday night with a two-run single off Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in a five-run fifth inning that helped rally Los Angeles to a clinching 7-6 victory in Game 5.

Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson also drove in 12 runs in 1960 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the championship that year on Bill Mazeroski's famous homer that ended Game 7.

Freeman compiled his total in just five games against New York, setting several World Series standards along the way.

The 35-year-old first baseman homered in each of the first four games, becoming the first player to accomplish that feat. The streak began when he launched the first game-ending grand slam in World Series history to win a dramatic opener in Los Angeles.

Freeman's two-run drive in the first inning Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium made him the only player to go deep in six consecutive Series games, dating to the 2021 title he won with Atlanta.

He was robbed of an extra-base hit in the fourth inning of Game 5 when Aaron Judge made a sensational catch of his long drive while crashing hard into the fence.

But the MVP award put a joyous cap on a scary and trying season for the Freeman family. Freeman missed eight games in July and August after his 3-year-old son, Maximus, fell ill while watching his father at the All-Star Game festivities in Texas.

When the family returned home, Max was hospitalized and put on a ventilator after he experienced partial paralysis and breathing difficulty. He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré, the rare neurological condition that affects the immune system, nerves and muscles.

Max’s condition gradually improved, and Freeman returned to work Aug. 5. He was welcomed back by a huge ovation from Dodgers fans that prompted tears from Freeman.

“I wish I’d never had to go through what we did as a family. But ultimately Maximus is doing really, really well right now. He’s a special boy, but it has been a grind for three months. It really has. It’s been a lot,” Freeman said.

“Then obviously with the injuries at the end, it makes it all worth it kind of in the end. I’ll never compare Maximus to baseball. I won’t. It’s just two separate things, but with him doing really well now, it does mean a little bit extra.”

Freeman batted .282 this season with 22 homers and 89 RBIs. An eight-time All-Star and the 2020 NL MVP with Atlanta, he is a .300 career hitter with 343 homers, 1,232 RBIs and an .899 OPS in 15 major league seasons. He has hit .300 or better eight times.

Freeman sprained his right ankle on Sept. 26 against San Diego while trying to avoid a tag at first base by Luis Arráez and missed the Dodgers’ last three regular-season games. He didn’t have any RBIs in the NL Division Series against the Padres and only one in the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets.

Freeman missed three games during the NL playoffs because of his ailing ankle. He didn’t play in the NLCS finale against the Mets and had six days off entering the World Series, allowing time for the ankle to feel better.

“I did a lot of work in between the NLCS and the World Series. Thankfully, my ankle got into a good spot where I could work on my swing, and I found a cue that really worked for me," he said. “I was able to slow things down. All you’re trying to do is swing at strikes, take balls, and hit the mistakes. Thankfully, I was able to do that for five games.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts puts Freeman on his Mount Rushmore of favorite players along with teammate Mookie Betts.

“He’s got gratitude, the desire to play every day, to know that this is a job and your job is to play and you’ve got to maximize your value — that’s by playing,” Roberts said Tuesday. “He’s my favorite player to be around as far as what he does for the culture of the organization.”

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman celebrates with the MVP trophy after their win against the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the baseball World Series, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman celebrates with the trophy after their win against the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the baseball World Series, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman celebrates after the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman celebrates with the MVP trophy after their win against the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the baseball World Series, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman tosses the ball during batting practic before Game 5 of the baseball World Series against the New York Yankees, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman waits to hit during batting practice before Game 5 of the baseball World Series against the New York Yankees, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge catches a fly ball by Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman during the fourth inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge catches a fly ball by Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman during the fourth inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman, right, runs toward home plate to score against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman hits two RBI single during the fifth inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series against the New York Yankees, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman hits two RBI single during the fifth inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series against the New York Yankees, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman reacts after scoring against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts (50) and Freddie Freeman (5) celebrate after scoring against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman watches his two-run single against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman celebrates after scoring on a double by Teoscar Hernández during the fifth inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific hopes regulators will be convinced this time that its $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern that it detailed for the second time Thursday will be good for the country.

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board rejected Union Pacific's initial application because regulators wanted more details about how the deal would affect the competitive balance between the five remaining major freight railroads and the impact on customers.

Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena said the new application makes an even stronger case for the benefits of the merger that he believes would shave a day or two off the delivery time for many shipments because they would no longer have to be handed off between two railroads in the middle of the country. The Omaha, Nebraska-based railroad projects that the merger could lead to shifting 2.1 million truckloads off the highway onto trains.

Vena said CSX and BNSF are already improving their operations to ensure they can compete ,and shippers will benefit from that if the deal is approved. Plus, he pointed out that since BNSF is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway it has the financial resources to do whatever is needed because Berkshire is sitting on nearly $400 billion cash.

“The first few years after this, it’s gonna be like one of those old 15-round boxing fights. Prices are gonna be used, the service is going to be used, everything. And I think the customer’s going to be the winner in all this while we knock down, drag it out, to see who can win and grow their market share,” Vena said.

But the STB established a high bar for major railroad mergers like this one around the turn of the century after past rail mergers snarled freight and led to prolonged disruptions while two railroads worked to integrate their networks. Now Union Pacific has to demonstrate that this deal will enhance competition.

Vena said he's confident the railroads can avoid the integration problems of past mergers because they will take it slow while listening to a new board of customers about the impact. Plus this would be a combination of two successful railroads instead of many deals of the past where one thriving railroad took over another nearly bankrupt one in disrepair.

The deal includes a provision that if the STB requires more than $750 million in concessions Union Pacific can consider walking away, but it won't automatically doom the deal, the railroads disclosed Thursday as they submitted a copy of their merger agreement. Norfolk Southern would be entitled to a $2.5 billion breakup fee if the deal falls apart.

Currently, Norfolk Southern and CSX serve the eastern U.S. while Union Pacific and BNSF serve the west, and the two major Canadian rails compete where they can with their tracks crossing Canada and extending into the United States and Mexico.

A merged Union Pacific would likely control nearly 40% of the nation’s freight, but the railroad said that currently BNSF delivers that much of the nation's freight. So the railroads said the deal would shift which railroad dominates the market but wouldn't dramatically change the competitive balance.

But competitors BNSF and CPKC railroads joined a new coalition Wednesday to highlight concerns that the deal could hurt shippers and eventually consumers if it leads to higher rates for companies that have few options besides rail to get their raw materials and deliver their products. The coalition also includes trade groups for chemical and agricultural shippers and the unions that represent engineers and track maintenance workers.

“This did not begin with a customer asking for a UP-NS merger to happen,” BNSF CEO Katie Farmer said. “It’s driven by Wall Street on the promise of a big shareholder payout. It will eliminate competition, raise costs for consumers, and destabilize the supply chain that powers the American economy.”

But the biggest rail union and hundreds of shippers have backed the deal that would cut the number of major freight railroads across America down to five.

Union Pacific has promised that every union employee who has a job with either railroad at the time of the merger will have a job for life although the workforce could still shrink through attrition if the number of shipments slows down. But UP sounded an optimistic note Thursday and predicted that more than 1,200 new jobs will be created by the third year after the deal to handle the increased freight.

Previously, the railroads predicted 900 new jobs. But the new traffic data the railroads analyzed from all the major freight railroads convinced executives that more job growth is likely.

If the STB accepts this new application, regulators will likely spend more than a year analyzing every aspect of the deal.

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FILE - Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena talks in front of a locomotive simulator used to train engineers at the company's headquarters in Omaha, Neb., Dec. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Josh Funk, File)

FILE - A Norfolk Southern freight train rolls past the U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works, in Clairton, Pa., Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - A Union Pacific worker walks between two locomotives that are being serviced in a railyard in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Dec. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Josh Funk, File)