Gene Freese

From BR Bullpen

Eugene Lewis Freese (Augie)

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.
School West Liberty State College
Debut April 13, 1955
Final Game September 3, 1966
Born January 8, 1934 in Wheeling, WV USA

[edit] Biographical Information

The younger brother of George by seven years Gene Freese a 21 year old rookie showed flashes of power with 14 homers while alternating between second and third base in his first trip to the majors in 1955. On March 25, 1953 Gene was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent and spent two years in the minors before showing up at Forbes Field in '55.

He eventually became primarily a third baseman in a dozen year major league stay. After hitting a career high .283 in 1957, he was traded to the Cardinals by the Pirates along with Johnny O'Brien for Dick Schofield and cash. While with the Cardinals he and Curt Flood hit back to back homers leading off a game on August 17, 1958. This was only the fifth time in National League history that this had been done. The opposing pitcher was a young 22 year old left-hander named Sandy Koufax.

Freese changed uniforms again in 1959. He was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Solly Hemus and blasted 23 homers for the Phillies including a pair as a pinch hitter on April 18th and 23rd, in consecutive at-bats off the bench. He continued to be on the move: He was traded to the defending American League champion White Sox (for Johnny Callison) in 1960, then back to the National League to help the Cincinnati Reds win the pennant in 1961 with 26 homers and 87 RBIs.

After being sidelined for most of the 1962 season with a broken ankle suffered in spring training, he drifted around for second tours with the Pirates and White Sox before finishing out his 12 year major league career with the Houston Astros in 1966. He appeared in 1,115 games with 877 base hits, including 115 homers for a .254 average.

Gene would play two more seasons in the minors, all in AAA ball and hang up his playing spikes in 1968 after 16 active seasons in pro baseball. Freese played in all or part of six seasons in the minors, appearing in 612 games, banging out 650 base hits, including 69 homers for a minor league career batting average of .288.

Freese would return to baseball for two years where he managed the Shreveport Captains of the Texas League to a 70-68 record in 1973 and to a 59-79 record in 1974. After baseball Gene later owned a nightclub, Third Base Inc., in New Orleans, LA.