Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman was a well-deserved World Series MVP after hitting four home runs and delivering some of the biggest hitting in the Dodgers’ five-game series win.

There was some concern about his health coming into the series with an ankle injury, and it looks like it may have even been the worst of the injuries he’s dealt with.

Freeman also was playing through torn rib cartilage, which he suffered while taking a few swings in the batting cage in early October.

More on that injuryfrom ESPN’s Jeff Passan:

Unable to even get off the floor, Freeman was helped into the X-ray room by the Los Angeles dugout. The results were inconclusive, and around 9:30 p.m., he got a call. The Dodgers wanted him to drive to Santa Monica for more pictures. He jumped into the car, then into an MRI tube. Around 11:30 p.m., the results came in: Freeman tore his costal cartilage at his sixth rib, an injury that usually sidelines players for months.

Passan went on to write that Freeman’s father urged him not to play this postseason because of his rib and ankle injuries. Freeman obviously refused to give in and kept going.

He went on to have one of the most impressive World Series performances of all time, hitting home runs in four straight games, including the first grand slam in World Series history. He also delivered a huge two-out, two-run single in the top of the fifth inning in the Dodgers’ wild Game 5 comeback.

The injuries are only part of what makes the Dodgers’ win so impressive.

Their pitching staff has been decimated by injuries all season and there were basically just three starters for the World Series. Throw in Shohei Ohtani’s dislocated shoulder injury, as well as everything else Freeman has been playing, and it’s about as bad a win as you can imagine.