David Freese
From BR Bullpen
David Richard Freese
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 3", Weight 225 lb.
- Schools St. Louis Community College at Meramec, University of South Alabama
- High School Lafayette High School (Wildwood, MO)
- Debut April 6, 2009
- Born April 28, 1983 in Corpus Christi, TX USA
[edit] Biographical Information
David Freese made his professional debut in 2006 and was traded for an All-Star a year later. By 2009, he was in the major leagues.
Freese hit .373/.443/.525 with 52 runs in 56 games in 2005 as a junior for South Alabama, after transferring from junior college. He was 7th in the Sun Belt Conference in average and led the school one year after Adam Lind had done so. Freese was even better in 2006, hitting .414/.503/.661 with 73 runs and 73 RBI in 60 games. He barely won the SBC batting title and also led the Conference in RBI. He tied for 9th in NCAA Division I in RBI, was 12th in average and just missed the top 10 in runs scored. He made the All-Conference team at third base and was named SBC Player of the Year. He was picked as a American Baseball Coaches Association All-American as the top third baseman in NCAA Division I, ahead of Evan Longoria and Pedro Alvarez, among others.
The San Diego Padres drafted Freese in the 9th round of the 2006 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Bob Filotei and batted .379/.465/.776 with 19 runs and 26 RBI in 18 games for the Eugene Emeralds and .299/.374/.510 with 44 RBI in 53 games for the Fort Wayne Wizards in a fine professional debut.
In 2007, David batted .302/.400/.489 for the Lake Elsinore Storm. In 128 games, he scored 104 runs and drove in 96. He ranked 7th in the California League in OBP, 7th in RBI and tied with Tony Granadillo for third in runns. He made the California League All-Star team as the top third baseman.
After the season, he was traded with about $1 million to the St. Louis Cardinals for Jim Edmonds.
Freese batted .306/.361/.550 for the 2008 Memphis Redbirds with 26 home runs and 91 RBI. He led Pacific Coast League third basemen in fielding percentage (.967) and double plays (26). He made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on opening day of the 2009 season. He only played 17 games in the majors that first season, in spite of hitting .323 in 21 at-bats; he missed more than half of the year with injuries, and was with Memphis for 56 games, hitting an even .300. In 2010, he was in the majors for 70 games after one game in AA, and hit .296 with 4 homers and 36 RBI before his season was ended by a right ankle injury in June. In 2011, he started well, hitting .256 with 2 homers and 14 RBI in 25 games before injuries caught up with him once again. He broke a bone in his left hand, underwent surgery on May 3rd, and was again out of action for a long stretch. But when he came back, he had a storybook ending to his year. He finished the season with a batting line of .297/.350/.441, with 10 homers and 55 RBI on 97 games. But the best was yet to come; in the Cardinals' unlikely run to a World Series title, Freese was one of the main heroes. He set a record with 21 RBI during the postseason, and was named MVP of both the NLCS and World Series; he was at his best in the critical Game 6 of the World Series, hitting a game-tying two-run triple with two outs in the 9th inning, and then winning the game with a walk-off home run in the 11th inning.
Freese picked right where he left off in 2012, driving in the first two runs in the history of Marlins Park with a 1st-inning single off Josh Johnson of the Miami Marlins on April 4th, sending the Cardinals on their way to a 4-1 win.
Sources include 2006-2007 Baseball Almanacs, The Baseball Cube
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 2011 NLCS MVP
- 2011 World Series MVP
- Won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011
