ATLANTA -- It turns out Freddie Freeman also got a kick out of his son Charlie’s reaction to recently serving up a backyard home run to his All-Star father. 

“He handled it OK,” Freeman said. “That was the only pitch I saw. That’s why he was so upset. He threw one pitch and I hit it over the trees. Luckily, we can go over to that property and get the ball. It was kind of funny to see his reaction. He threw the balls down and it was great.”  

Freeman was referring to the video that went viral last week after he drilled his three-year-old son’s pitch into a neighbor’s yard. The veteran first baseman touched on this funny event while participating in the Braves’ At Home Opener, which was available on the team’s YouTube channel and other social media platforms on Friday night.

With the coronavirus pandemic preventing fans from enjoying the scheduled home opener against the Marlins on Friday, the Braves created entertainment by airing some of favorite in-stadium traditions and interviews with Freeman, manager Brian Snitker and president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos.

“I think I speak for everybody,” Anthopoulos said. “I miss the employees. I miss the players. I miss the coaches. I miss being able to watch sports on TV. I think it’s one of those things where you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Through this, we have more of an appreciation of what sports are, baseball specifically.”

Anthopoulos said Cole Hamels’ previously ailing left shoulder is no longer bothering him and said the team had been starting to lean toward placing both Austin Riley and Johan Camargo on the Opening Day roster. But those roster-related decisions that stole the focus during Spring Training have been pushed to the side as the baseball world waits to see what the next few weeks and months might bring.

“We’re getting a lot of chores done around the house and we’re finally getting moved in [to our house] after three years,” Snitker said. “We’re making the best of it. It is what it is. It’s not easy for anybody.”

Before learning that all Spring Training operations were being shut down on March 13, Freeman was already preparing to spend the weekend at his grandmother’s funeral in California. After spending a few days with his family, he returned to Florida to gather his belongings and spend an additional week enjoying the weather.

Since returning to Atlanta nearly two weeks ago, he has attempted to keep himself in shape while not knowing when the season might start. He has been hitting off a tee at former teammate Dan Uggla’s house on a daily basis and keeping himself physically conditioned.

Freeman said he has not yet found somebody to play catch with. So, he playfully said he’s been thinking about using his trampoline to essentially serve as a pitch back net.

“I’m just trying to stay as ready as possible, which is very hard, especially when you’re used to playing games every day,” Freeman said. “We’re trying to make the most of it. Hopefully, soon we’ll be able to get to a normal time of playing baseball.”