Making an appearance as a guest on “MLB Central” on Saturday morning, Freddie Freeman was honest and direct when Lauren Shehadi asked him one thing he would tell young baseball players.

Freeman quickly answered, saying to “Swing hard,” then laughed it off and went on to say kids just need to have fun.

“All these kids, they always ask me, ‘What do I need to do to be a big leaguer?’ ” Freeman said. “I’m always like, ‘Not think like that right now.’ Be a kid. Play flag football, play fastball, switch sports. You don’t need to be taking 12 lessons every week.”

Freeman went on to say that this was how it was for him growing up as a kid in Southern California. He still instills this type of parenting into his four children.

When his kids are feeling sore or tired, Freeman said he will occasionally tell them to skip practice and just focus on being a kid and having fun.

“For me as a 9-, 10-, 11-year-old, it was have one practice, play one game on the weekend, and you’re playing Heads-Up, Seven Up all day long at the Little League field,” Freeman said. “That’s what it’s about. It’s fun. This game is not supposed to be a job until later on in life.”

“I think kids need to be kids. Have fun. If you go 0-for-3, with three strikeouts in a game, go get an ice cream and not worry about it.”

Typically, Freeman tries to avoid giving advice to kids. But when he does, he tries to wait until they are sophomores or juniors in high school because they’re close to going to the next level and playing college baseball.

Focusing on having fun and playing baseball as a kid clearly worked out for Freeman during his childhood, as he is a three-time World Series champion, a former National League MVP (2020), a World Series MVP (2024) and a nine-time All-Star.

As a father of three boys and one girl, Freeman said he tells his oldest son, Charlie, three rules when he’s playing baseball. “Be aggressive, hit line drives and cheer on your teammates.”