Justin Dean ('19) and Freeman ('08), World Series Champions
LOS ANGELES - Two former Rome Braves, some eleven years apart in their tenure with Atlanta's High-A club, celebrated like kings with champagne and a parade down L.A.'s Grand Avenue this past Monday. For Freddie Freeman, his 16th season in the big leagues came along with his fifth consecutive All-Star
LOS ANGELES - Two former Rome Braves, some eleven years apart in their tenure with Atlanta's High-A club, celebrated like kings with champagne and a parade down L.A.'s Grand Avenue this past Monday.
For Freddie Freeman, his 16th season in the big leagues came along with his fifth consecutive All-Star Game appearance (first in Atlanta), a walk-off homerun in the 18th inning of game three of the World Series (first player in baseball history to record multiple walk-off homeruns in the WS), and ultimately the first baseman's third World Series title (not quite halfway to Gehrig). But there was another former R-Brave in center field for the Dodgers when Mookie Betts and Freeman combined for the 32nd and 33rd outs last Saturday night... Rome's starting center fielder for 102 games in 2019, Justin Dean, became just the 24th player in franchise history to be crowned a World Series Champion, and did so without recording his first big-league hit.
Dean, 28, was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 17th Round (502nd overall) in the 2018 Draft out of Lenoir-Rhyne University. After spending five full seasons in the Braves organization, he elected free agency in November of 2024, signing with the Dodgers a month later. Dean appeared in 13 games across the 2025 postseason, mostly entering as a defensive replacement in center field. He did, however, score a run in Game 4 of the NLDS in what was a 2-1 win for LA over the Phillies in extras. Dean hit .284 with an .817 OPS across 419 at-bats with the Rome Braves in 2019 and was a SAL Postseason All-Star.
12 of the 23 world champions cultivated in Rome were crowned on Atlanta's 2021 World Series roster. They are: Ozzie Albies, Ian Anderson, Johan Camargo, William Contreras, Tucker Davidson, Freddie Freeman, Max Fried, A.J. Minter, Christian Pache, Austin Riley, Jacob Webb, and Huascar Ynoa.
The remaining players reached the pinnacle of the sport with other organizations. They are: Evan Gattis ('17 Astros), Jason Heyward ('16 Cubs), Craig Kimbrel ('18 Red Sox), Tommy La Stella ('16 Cubs), Brian McCann ('17 Astros), Kris Medlen ('15 Royals), Charlie Morton ('17 Astros), Evan Phillips ('24 Dodgers), Jarrod Saltalamacchia ('13 Red Sox), and Alex Wood ('20 Dodgers).