Freeman excited to be back, getting ready for Opening Day

ATLANTA - The relief and joy on Freddie Freeman’s face was hard to miss as the Braves first baseman held his first press conference for in months, as he returns from a battle with coronavirus. 

"Today was the day that if I wasn’t here, I would have missed Opening Day for the first time," he said Saturday. "I’m still surprised that I’m back to back negative, so I’m not going to question it. I feel great. I knew I was running out of time, and I’m still going to pushing the envelope here."

The plan for Saturday's intrasquad game was for Freeman to hit third each inning. He wants to get five or six at-bats every day until the Braves opener on Friday. Freeman admitted he hasn’t seen live pitching in three months, so he’s hoping to get up to speed in time to make a full comeback. 

SARASOTA, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Atlanta Braves looks on during a team workout at CoolToday Park on February 20, 2020 in Sarasota, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

"Obviously you get your best player back, it's a positive thing and a good thing," manager Brian Snitker said Saturday. "He looks great and feels good. It's a matter of him not overdoing it." 

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The All-Star first baseman tested positive for the first time on July 3 after testing negative upon first arriving at camp, and that night he spiked a 104 fever.

"I said a little prayer that night," Freeman recalled. "I’ve never been that hot before. My body was really, really hot. So I said please don’t take me. I wasn’t ready. It got a little worrisome that night for me."

That fever finally broke on July 6. Then, his condition improved to feeling more like a sinus infection as that week went on, he said.

His symptoms included a high fever, headaches, body aches, and loss of taste and smell.

Freeman said he has been symptom-free for nine days as of Saturday.

Freeman said his harrowing battle with COVID-19 hopefully serves as a warning to others to take the virus seriously. Though he suspects he might have gotten it from a family member he saw before leaving for Braves camp, he said it was nothing more than "a suspicion," and that he and his family had done "everything right" to protect themselves.

"It's very serious. We did everything right. We didn't go to restaurants, we didn't go see friends, we had our groceries delivered, we wiped those groceries down," he said. "It still somehow got to me."

Freeman said moving forward, all MLB players need to be accountable to themselves and their teammates, answering screenings truthfully and being cautious around the clubhouse and outside of it. He also praised the league's "great job" regarding protocols and measures in place amid the pandemic.