Freddie Freeman gets hugged out by Ketel Marte in Dodgers' 3-2 win over Diamondbacks
After Freeman and Ketel Marte hugged it out, Will Smith struck the big blow for the Dodgers on his birthday and bobblehead day.
Typically, a hug in a baseball game draws attention around the MLB trade deadline when a player being embraced by teammates means that he’s been dealt to another club. In Saturday’s game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers, a hug on the basepaths had no such implications. The only consequence was the final out of the second inning when Arizona’s Ketel Marte fielded a ground ball at second base as the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman was running toward him.
Rather than simply tag Freeman for the out, Marte held out his arms toward Freeman as the Dodgers’ first baseman had nowhere to go. Acknowledging the friendliness of the gesture, Freeman walked toward Marte and the two hugged to end the inning. #HugWatch pic.
twitter. com/0GQyOqwkH6 — Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) March 29, 2026 [ Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season ] "I didn't think I'd ever be a part of a hug-out on baseball field,” Freeman said after batting 3-for-4 in the Dodgers’ 3-2 win , via the Associated Press . Freeman, who said he’s “very much a hugger,” then explained what he was thinking as Marte stood in front of him with his arms open.
“I stopped and I was like, is there any way around this? ” Freeman continued. “If I go out of the baseline, I’m out.