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Jackson Freeman’s offensive renaissance spurs Chatham's 7-3 win over Brewster
CHATHAM, Mass. — While he spends most of his time in Austin, Texas, Anglers manager Dennis Cook owns another property in Corpus Christi, where he often goes fishing off the Gulf of Mexico.
A little over a year ago — before he had even received the Chatham job — Cook was at his second residence, and he decided he was going to catch a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball game. It was March 2024, and the Islanders were hosting the Northwestern Wildcats for the first time in program history.
He only stayed for a couple of innings. But that was more than enough time for him to fall in love with Jackson Freeman, then a freshman right fielder for the Wildcats, whose sweet swing instantly stood out to Cook.
At Veterans Field Friday before Chatham’s contest against Brewster, Cook stopped Freeman in between rounds of batting practice. The two stood behind the turtle, chatting about baseball before Cook offhandedly mentioned how he had actually seen Freeman play once — well before the two had ever met each other — and watched as shock set in for the outfielder.
Approximately three hours later, that sweet swing of Freeman’s which Cook had fallen in love with in Corpus Christi made another appearance, though this time in Chatham. Leading off for the A’s against the Whitecaps, it took Freeman just two pitches to give the Anglers (12-13-3, East) a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in their 7-3 win over Brewster (15-12-1, East), as he led off the game by blasting his second homer of the year. He reached base four times in five plate appearances on the night.
“It’s always a good performance whenever you can be winning 1-0 after the first hit or so,” Cook said. “Hitters hit, and he’s a hitter.”
After pitching five shutout innings against Yarmouth-Dennis Sunday in his first start since his junior year of high school, Duke Stone (Mississippi State) continued his dominance in his second start of the season for Chatham. As he became the first Anglers starter to complete six innings this summer, Stone allowed zero runs, struck out eight Whitecaps and walked none.
But the real star of the show was Freeman, who broke out of an abbreviated slump in a big way with his performance against Brewster.
“Jackson Freeman is probably our best pure hitter,” Cook said.
Jackson Freeman finishes walking through a crowd of Anglers' teammates after slugging a leadoff home run in Chatham's victory over Brewster. Freeman ended the night 2-for-3 at the plate and took two walks to help lead the A's to a lopsided win. Photograph by Ella Tovey
About five months after he first saw Freeman swing, Cook received Chatham’s managerial job, and he immediately made the Wildcat a priority when he was attempting to assemble his roster for the 2025 Cape Cod Baseball League season.
Freeman barely even had a say in the matter. By the time the fall semester rolled around, his coaches had established that he was going to Chatham in the summer. Nevertheless, after having conversations with previous Anglers throughout the year, it wasn’t like Freeman needed much convincing to join them.
“I couldn’t have been more excited,” Freeman said. “I had heard so many good things about this place from guys that have played in the Cape in years prior.”
He kept in consistent contact with Cook throughout his sophomore year at Northwestern, which admittedly was not his best season. Compared to his freshman season, Freeman’s home run total, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS all dipped in 2025.
As he entered the Cape, Freeman had a chip on his shoulder. He was determined to prove that he belonged at the highest level of collegiate baseball — despite what his sophomore year may have indicated.
So, the Wildcat outfielder made a slight mechanical adjustment ahead of his summer in Chatham. Freeman eliminated a toe tap he previously had, instead opting for a simpler load and leg lift in his swing. He hoped it would help him adjust to pitches more effectively.
Over his first few weeks in Chatham, the change paid dividends. Through the Fourth of July, Freeman had established himself as one of the Anglers’ most consistent hitters as their everyday right fielder. On America’s birthday, he blasted his first home run of the summer in an A’s victory over Orleans, raising his OPS to an obscene .992 across his first 16 games of the season. His efforts even earned him a spot on the Cape League All-Star Team; he was named the starting right fielder for the East Division.
But then, balls stopped falling for Freeman. Over the past two weeks, it felt like everything he touched was miraculously finding leather, no matter how hard it came off the bat.
“It’s baseball. I feel like I’d still been hitting the ball pretty well,” Freeman said. “Sometimes, it just finds a glove.”
Entering Friday, Freeman carried a paltry .143 batting average over his past week of play, and just a marginally better .191 mark in his previous 15 days of action. His season OPS, which nearly approached 1.000, had cratered to a much more pedestrian .739 mark. And his average, which was over .350 after the Fourth of July, now stood at just .271 entering Friday’s matchup against Brewster.
Against the Whitecaps, Freeman didn’t feel like anything had changed about his approach. He just hit it where they weren’t.
As it turns out, if you deposit the second pitch you see over the right-field fence, it becomes mightily difficult for any outfielder to do anything about it.
Freeman is a streaky hitter, prone to inconsistencies over the ebbs and flows of the Cape Cod Baseball League season. But at this juncture, that’s about the most apt description you could conjure up for the Anglers’ offense.
In the past week, Chatham has alternated between losses where plating two runs feels as grueling as pulling teeth, and victories where scoring seven feels as effortless as lifting a paperweight. The Anglers haven’t won two consecutive games since July 1-2, amid a period in which Freeman has struggled to find consistency at the plate.
Trying to determine which version of the Anglers will show up on any given day is a Herculean task. With how he’s performed as of late, the same could be said for Freeman.
But if this iteration of Freeman starts to crop back up consistently, perhaps the version of the A’s that struggles to score multiple runs will quickly fade out of existence.
“Jackson Freeman can hit,” Cook said. “I’m not worried about him one bit.”
A little over a year ago — before he had even received the Chatham job — Cook was at his second residence, and he decided he was going to catch a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball game. It was March 2024, and the Islanders were hosting the Northwestern Wildcats for the first time in program history.
He only stayed for a couple of innings. But that was more than enough time for him to fall in love with Jackson Freeman, then a freshman right fielder for the Wildcats, whose sweet swing instantly stood out to Cook.
At Veterans Field Friday before Chatham’s contest against Brewster, Cook stopped Freeman in between rounds of batting practice. The two stood behind the turtle, chatting about baseball before Cook offhandedly mentioned how he had actually seen Freeman play once — well before the two had ever met each other — and watched as shock set in for the outfielder.
Approximately three hours later, that sweet swing of Freeman’s which Cook had fallen in love with in Corpus Christi made another appearance, though this time in Chatham. Leading off for the A’s against the Whitecaps, it took Freeman just two pitches to give the Anglers (12-13-3, East) a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in their 7-3 win over Brewster (15-12-1, East), as he led off the game by blasting his second homer of the year. He reached base four times in five plate appearances on the night.
“It’s always a good performance whenever you can be winning 1-0 after the first hit or so,” Cook said. “Hitters hit, and he’s a hitter.”
After pitching five shutout innings against Yarmouth-Dennis Sunday in his first start since his junior year of high school, Duke Stone (Mississippi State) continued his dominance in his second start of the season for Chatham. As he became the first Anglers starter to complete six innings this summer, Stone allowed zero runs, struck out eight Whitecaps and walked none.
But the real star of the show was Freeman, who broke out of an abbreviated slump in a big way with his performance against Brewster.
“Jackson Freeman is probably our best pure hitter,” Cook said.
Jackson Freeman finishes walking through a crowd of Anglers' teammates after slugging a leadoff home run in Chatham's victory over Brewster. Freeman ended the night 2-for-3 at the plate and took two walks to help lead the A's to a lopsided win. Photograph by Ella Tovey
About five months after he first saw Freeman swing, Cook received Chatham’s managerial job, and he immediately made the Wildcat a priority when he was attempting to assemble his roster for the 2025 Cape Cod Baseball League season.
Freeman barely even had a say in the matter. By the time the fall semester rolled around, his coaches had established that he was going to Chatham in the summer. Nevertheless, after having conversations with previous Anglers throughout the year, it wasn’t like Freeman needed much convincing to join them.
“I couldn’t have been more excited,” Freeman said. “I had heard so many good things about this place from guys that have played in the Cape in years prior.”
He kept in consistent contact with Cook throughout his sophomore year at Northwestern, which admittedly was not his best season. Compared to his freshman season, Freeman’s home run total, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS all dipped in 2025.
As he entered the Cape, Freeman had a chip on his shoulder. He was determined to prove that he belonged at the highest level of collegiate baseball — despite what his sophomore year may have indicated.
So, the Wildcat outfielder made a slight mechanical adjustment ahead of his summer in Chatham. Freeman eliminated a toe tap he previously had, instead opting for a simpler load and leg lift in his swing. He hoped it would help him adjust to pitches more effectively.
Over his first few weeks in Chatham, the change paid dividends. Through the Fourth of July, Freeman had established himself as one of the Anglers’ most consistent hitters as their everyday right fielder. On America’s birthday, he blasted his first home run of the summer in an A’s victory over Orleans, raising his OPS to an obscene .992 across his first 16 games of the season. His efforts even earned him a spot on the Cape League All-Star Team; he was named the starting right fielder for the East Division.
But then, balls stopped falling for Freeman. Over the past two weeks, it felt like everything he touched was miraculously finding leather, no matter how hard it came off the bat.
“It’s baseball. I feel like I’d still been hitting the ball pretty well,” Freeman said. “Sometimes, it just finds a glove.”
Entering Friday, Freeman carried a paltry .143 batting average over his past week of play, and just a marginally better .191 mark in his previous 15 days of action. His season OPS, which nearly approached 1.000, had cratered to a much more pedestrian .739 mark. And his average, which was over .350 after the Fourth of July, now stood at just .271 entering Friday’s matchup against Brewster.
Against the Whitecaps, Freeman didn’t feel like anything had changed about his approach. He just hit it where they weren’t.
As it turns out, if you deposit the second pitch you see over the right-field fence, it becomes mightily difficult for any outfielder to do anything about it.
Freeman is a streaky hitter, prone to inconsistencies over the ebbs and flows of the Cape Cod Baseball League season. But at this juncture, that’s about the most apt description you could conjure up for the Anglers’ offense.
In the past week, Chatham has alternated between losses where plating two runs feels as grueling as pulling teeth, and victories where scoring seven feels as effortless as lifting a paperweight. The Anglers haven’t won two consecutive games since July 1-2, amid a period in which Freeman has struggled to find consistency at the plate.
Trying to determine which version of the Anglers will show up on any given day is a Herculean task. With how he’s performed as of late, the same could be said for Freeman.
But if this iteration of Freeman starts to crop back up consistently, perhaps the version of the A’s that struggles to score multiple runs will quickly fade out of existence.
“Jackson Freeman can hit,” Cook said. “I’m not worried about him one bit.”
