Freddie Freeman is more than likely on his way to the Hall of Fame. A decade and a half of stellar regular-season play combined with some historic postseason performances have made his case pretty air-tight at this point. But there are still milestones on the horizon as he enters his age-36 season.
The lefty slugger is closing in on 400 homers (367), which he could potentially reach in 2026, and 1,500 RBIs (1,322), which he could reach in 2027 or 2028. But farther off, yet still within reach, is perhaps the most hallowed milestone for a hitter: 3,000 hits.
Just 33 players have reached 3,000 hits -- the most recent being Miguel Cabrera in 2022 -- but Freeman's path to get there is fairly straightforward.
Freeman enters 2026 as the active hits leader, with 2,431. And he remains a highly productive hitter, having averaged 181 hits the past five seasons, including a career-high 211 in 2023. The past two seasons, however, he's averaged 158 hits -- still a solid number, but well below his early-30s production. The drop-off is mostly thanks to injuries and other issues that limited Freeman to 147 games in each of the past two seasons, his lowest total in a full season since 2017.
However, Freeman's underlying metrics in 2025 would seem to indicate that there's still juice in the tank. His 45.7% hard-hit rate was well above league average (37%) and even above his career mark of 44.2%. Meanwhile, his wOBA -- a version of on-base percentage that measures how a player reaches bases rather than just whether he reaches base -- was .370 and in baseball's 94th percentile. Digging deeper, Freeman's expected stats also remained solid. In particular, his .349 xwOBA -- which factors exit velocity, launch angle and more -- was in baseball's 82nd percentile.
A key number: 150 (but with wiggle room)
Assuming relatively healthy seasons over the next few years, Freeman's path to 3,000 hits could be tied to another specific number: 150. As in, 150 hits per season. If he can average 150 hits for the next four seasons, concluding with what would be his age-39 season, Freeman would be at 3,031 hits. That's the more comfortable path. But there's another path in which he would just squeak past the milestone. The number tied to that route is 143.
If an average of 150 hits per season over the next four years is a big ask for a hitter approaching age 40, then an average of 143 hits could be more doable. In that scenario, Freeman would finish his age-39 season with 3,003 hits.
It's important to note that Freeman is under contract with the Dodgers through the 2027 season. But it's reasonable to assume that if he's still at least somewhat productive that he'd have little to no trouble finding somewhere to play in 2028 and 2029, especially if the 3,000-hit mark is within his grasp.
Rare air
Should Freeman get 3,000 hits, he would be just the sixth primary first baseman to reach the mark. Should he reach 3,000 while also having 400 or more homers, he would be just the fourth primary first baseman to do so. Should he reach 3,000 hits, 400 homers and maintain his .300 career average, he'd be the only first baseman to do that and just the fifth player at any position to do it, joining Cabrera, Stan Musial, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. That would be inner-circle greatness.
After Freeman, the list of candidates to reach 3,000 hits is small. The next-closest player to the milestone is Jose Altuve, who will enter 2026 -- his age-36 season -- at 2,388 hits. After that, it's Andrew McCutchen (age 39) at 2,266 hits, Paul Goldschmidt (38) at 2,190 hits and Manny Machado (33) at 2,069 hits.
Again, Freeman already has an excellent Hall of Fame case even without 3,000 hits. But the pursuit will give an extra dose of drama to the final years of an exceptional career.