This story was excerpted from Juan Toribio’s Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

LOS ANGELES -- With the new rules leading to more stolen bases, Freddie Freeman showed up to Spring Training half-jokingly saying he might just get to 15 stolen bases in one season. 

Freeman, who has a huge smile on his face every time he records a stolen base, has gotten progressively better at deciding when to pick his spots to run. He has improved his stolen base numbers every season and set a career high with 13 in 2022. 

Not only did Freeman get to 15 stolen bases this season, but with his 20th stolen base in the Dodgers’ 8-3 win over the Tigers on Monday at Dodger Stadium, Freeman joined the 20-20 club for the first time in his career. 

“This is one thing I never thought I’d do in my career,” Freeman said with a smile. “But a lot of credit has to go to [first base coach] Clayton McCullough. So much work goes into before games, picking up patterns on pitchers. Just situations of when to go and not to go. I needed a little help from the replay review, but I didn’t think that would ever happen in my career, so it was pretty cool.” 

In a season where the National League Most Valuable Player Award seems to be centered around Mookie Betts and Ronald Acuña Jr., Freeman has consistently found a way to remind people that he should also be in contention. 

Freeman already set the Dodgers doubles record this season (he has 55) and is well on his way to becoming the first player to get to 60 doubles in a single season since the 1930s. With his 20th stolen base on Monday, he also became the first player since Brian Roberts in 2009 to hit more than 50 doubles and steal at least 20 bags in a season. It’s also the first by a first baseman in Major League history.

"First basemen usually aren't the speed demons,” Freeman laughed. “Like my dad just texted me, he goes, 'Fast enough.' The Freemans aren't known to be very fast. But I just try to pick the right situations and stuff like that. I value 90 feet a lot in this game. As it worked out, J.D. [Martinez] getting a two-out hit again for another insurance run there. So I just try to pick the right situations to go. I do keep myself in OK shape to run OK, so hopefully I can keep doing this a little bit."

If all goes according to plan and barring a vicious slump, Freeman will continue to make some more history in what has become, arguably, his best season in the Majors, which is saying a lot. With four more hits, he would also record 200 hits for the first time in his career. 

Freeman would then become the first primary first baseman in Major League history to hit 20 homers, steal 20 bases and record 200 hits in the same season, and the 33rd player all-time. 

“It’s an exclamation mark on a tremendous season,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “It’s special. He’s never done it. For a first baseman to then be able to potentially get to 200 hits, it’s never been done. There have been a lot of first basemen that have played this game for close to [150] years. For him to reach that milestone is going to be pretty special. But the 20-20 I think he really wanted. I’m happy for him.”