For Alex Freeland, the external clamor could have easily drowned him out.

There was chatter about his lack of performance during spring training. There were whispers suggesting he lagged behind Hyeseong Kim in the competition for second base during camp. Doubts circulated about whether he truly merited the opening day roster spot he secured with the Dodgers, especially since he unexpectedly clinched the position just as the regular season was set to begin.

Yet, the rookie infielder chose to let the noise dissipate into the background.

“I try not to get caught up in that,” Freeland remarked. “If you get caught up, it diverts your attention from the task you’re aiming to accomplish on the field each day.”

Though it may sound like a cliché, this mindset is precisely what caught the attention of the Dodgers’ management during Freeland’s spring training.

After floundering in his big-league debut last year, when he hit .190 and had his mental and emotional composure tested, the 24-year-old infielder decided to “take a step back and look at myself in the mirror” this offseason. 

“I wasn’t a great baseball player last year,” he told the California Post this week. “So I really took a step back, looked at myself and decided who I wanted to be and how I was gonna do it.”

The answer: An offseason of growth and maturation, epitomized by Freeland’s decision to spend the entire winter training with Dodgers staff at the team’s Camelback Ranch facility in Arizona.

The result: A new and, the team hopes, improved version of Freeland entering 2026.

“I don’t think anything got easier,” Freeland said. “I think just mentally, I feel more prepared.”

Indeed, Freeland seemed to have found a newfound ease in his auspicious season debut last Friday. In his first at-bat, he hit a home run, combining improved plate discipline and refined swing mechanics to open his campaign with an immediate bang. Later in the game, he lined a double that helped set up a game-winning rally. On defense, he also recorded two assists throwing out runners on relay plays from second. In the postgame clubhouse, reliever Evan Phillips joked it was a performance worthy of one full WAR.

“I was just super confident, itching to get in the box,” Freeland said a few days later. “I just felt good. I can’t remember a lot of times last year where I felt like that.”

In some ways, 2025 still was a breakthrough campaign for the former third-round draft pick. He impressed in his first extended stint in triple-A, hitting 16 home runs and 82 RBIs to go along with his dependable and versatile infield defense. He earned his career first call-up to the majors in late July, collecting a hit in his MLB debut and going 6-for-17 in his opening week.

A month later, however, the narrative had changed.

Freeland hit just .149 over his subsequent 24 games. He was striking out in more than 40% of his at-bats. And in early September, it all came to a head with a demotion back to the minors.

“I think at times, the game sped up on him,” manager Dave Roberts said.

When Freeland was sent down, people around the team were struck by how hard he seemed to take it.

In hindsight, however, Freeland said it gave him a new perspective. Not only did he understand the decision (“Be honest,” he quipped, “would you want somebody hitting .190 in the lineup?”) but he used it as a way to reframe his mindset.

“I took it like, ‘Alright, I’m gonna go back down to triple-A and work my butt off and get right back,’” he said. “Because I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

Thus, Freeland spent all winter in Arizona, refining his swing mechanics and getting stronger physically.

Entering spring training, he gave himself two goals: “To break with the team, but also just mature and grow up and understand myself.”

Camp tested the latter. 

Though he rediscovered better plate discipline, drawing more walks than strikeouts with quality at-bats that impressed team officials, Freeland hit just .125 in Cactus League play. He was publicly compared to Kim daily for the team’s left-handed platoon job at second base. And when he ultimately won the competition –– with the club opting to start Kim in triple-A to work on his own swing overhaul –– there was angry online backlash from some corners of the fanbase.

“I mean, it was tough not to (hear that),” Freeland said. “But that wasn’t what my spring was for. Like, it wasn’t me versus Kim for this last roster spot. I was just trying to make the team. And I think Kim’s the man. You ask anybody in this clubhouse, everybody loves Kim.”

Now, though, they’re gaining more confidence in Freeland’s maturation, too, betting on the growth he showed in navigating what could have been a noisy spring.

“I talked all spring about his head and just kind of (how he was) staying confident,” Roberts said. “And I think he’s really confident. He’s in a good spot.”

On Monday night, Chicago police faced yet another significant gathering of teenagers, this time taking place in Hyde Park.

Footage captured a large group of young individuals clambering over cars as they moved along the street, raising concerns among residents and authorities.

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Chicago PD was present at the scene, accompanying the teens in an effort to maintain order throughout the evening.

When the city’s 10 p.m. curfew took effect, police took action by arresting three individuals for curfew violations. Among them, a 16-year-old girl faced charges for possessing a weapon illegally and failing to comply with police instructions.

Earlier on Tuesday, ABC7 conducted an exclusive interview with Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling. Following a police graduation ceremony, Supt. Snelling emphasized the need for parents and guardians to play a more active role in preventing their children from getting into precarious situations.

“When we don’t hold them accountable, we’re telling them that what they’re doing is OK, and it’s not right. We can’t have them harming each other, harming others, damaging property. We want to make sure that everyone gets to enjoy our city,” Snelling said.

Just last week, another large group of young people descended on the Loop, where fights broke out during a disruptive evening that led to eight arrests and 24 curfew citations.

Snelling says as we head into summer, police will keep modifying tactics as needed to try and prevent teen trends or mitigate bad behavior during them.

“We have to be fluid as a police department. So, as times change, things change, tactics change will change, the approach will change. So, we have to make sure that we’re focused on what it is that’s happening, whatever the trend is,” Snelling said.

Mayor Brandon Johnson says these teen trends are not something that Chicagoans should have to get used to and that police are using new tactics against them.

The mayor said he wants young people to be able to gather downtown or wherever they want, with a caveat.

“But this cannot come at the expense of reckless and irresponsible behavior, particularly behavior that endangers others. Parents and guardians, I need your assistance in making sure that we know where your children are at all times,” Johnson said.

The mayor was asked if he thought the Hyde Park incident could have been prevented.

“I believe that the best way to prevent these gatherings from taking place is that one we create more opportunities for people and that we also hold folks accountable,” Johnson said.

The mayor continued to push back against calls by Ald. Brian Hopkins and others to modify the current 10 p.m. curfew to give police flexibility in dealing with teen gatherings that happen earlier.

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