Freddie Freeman on his approach to hitting Chris Sale: 'You've got to be prepared to die'

Over his career, Atlanta Braves starter Chris Sale has been extremely effective against lefties. His arm slot, combined with his nasty stuff, make Sale a nightmare matchup for same-handed hitters, who have slugged just .285 against Sale over his career.

But Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman isn't most hitters. Freeman — who, like Sale, is heading to the Hall of Fame one day — has excelled where most lefties have failed. In 16 regular-season at-bats, Freeman has hit .313 against Sale, with two home runs.

That success reared its head Tuesday night, when Freeman tagged Sale for a solo home run in the fourth inning of the Dodgers' 3-1 win over the Braves in the NLDS.

After the contest, Freeman gave a pretty serious answer when asked about his approach to facing Sale, telling Fox, "You've got to be prepared to die" in the batter's box.

While that sounds … a bit extreme … there was a lot of logic behind Freeman's full quote, which read:

"Anything against Chris, you're trying to find something positive going in … he's one of the best pitchers in this game. You're just really trying to hope he makes a mistake and you're on time for it, really. "It's an extremely hard at-bat for a lefty. Like, I always say against him, 'You've got to be prepared to die.' Really, that's the mindset. If you pull off of him, you've got no chance. He's throwing behind you, so if he hits you in the ear, you've gotta be OK with it. That's kinda my mentality."

"Anything against Chris, you're trying to find something positive going in … he's one of the best pitchers in this game. You're just really trying to hope he makes a mistake and you're on time for it, really.

"It's an extremely hard at-bat for a lefty. Like, I always say against him, 'You've got to be prepared to die.' Really, that's the mindset. If you pull off of him, you've got no chance. He's throwing behind you, so if he hits you in the ear, you've gotta be OK with it. That's kinda my mentality."

Freeman's comment drew laughs from the Fox crew, including former Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, who also hit Sale well during his career.

While Freeman's comment about mortality will get the most attention, what he said directly after that is more important. Given Sale's arm slot, lefties have to be committed to staying in the batter's box at all times. The instant they bail out, thinking they are about to be hit with a pitch, they put themselves at a massive disadvantage against Sale's stuff.

Because of that, Freeman goes into each at-bat against Sale determined to stay in the box no matter what. If that means he gets hit by a pitch, Freeman is OK with that. It's a better result than striking out, something many, many lefties have done against Sale over his career.