DENVER — When Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman was voted into his fifth All-Star Game, all he could talk about was how excited he was for his 4-year-old son Charlie.
The young baseball fanatic had one goal if his father made the All-Star roster: Meet Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., a player who’s among the most exciting in the game and a face of the sport’s future.
“Charlie really wanted me to make it so he can meet Fernando Tatis Jr.,” Freddie Freeman said earlier this month. “And that was his only thing he wanted me to do, make it so he could meet him.”
Before Monday’s home run derby in Denver, Freeman told The AJC he’d approached Tatis about meeting his son soon.
“I already told Fernando in the clubhouse, ‘We have one job today: to make Charlie happy,’” Freeman said. “And he’s like, ‘I got you.’ He’s going to be on the field for the home run derby, so I think there’s a futon Fernando has, he was saying, and I’m going to put Charlie on the futon with him.”
Indeed, Charlie and Tatis finally met on the field before the home run derby. Freeman posted a picture and video of the two on Instagram, captioning it: “2021 All-Star week made! Thank you (Tatis)! Charlie is over the moon!”
Charlie did get to sit with Tatis on the futon, as well. Freeman took a picture of Charlie and Tatis hanging out together just before the derby started.
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