David Freese

David Freese
Freese with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2017
Third baseman
Born: (1983-04-28) April 28, 1983 (age 41) Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 6, 2009, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 2019, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
Batting average	.277
Home runs	113
Runs batted in	535
Teams
St. Louis Cardinals (2009–2013) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2014–2015) Pittsburgh Pirates (2016–2018) Los Angeles Dodgers (2018–2019)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star (2012) World Series champion (2011) World Series MVP (2011) NLCS MVP (2011)

David Richard Freese (born April 28, 1983) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He began his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009, where, two seasons later, he was a key player during the 2011 postseason, batting .545 with 12 hits in the 2011 National League Championship Series (NLCS). At the time, he also set an MLB postseason record of 21 runs batted in (RBIs), which earned him the NLCS MVP Award and World Series MVP Award. In addition, Freese won the Babe Ruth Award, naming him the MVP of the 2011 MLB postseason. He also played for the Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Los Angeles Dodgers.

A star high school player, Freese declined a college baseball scholarship from the University of Missouri. Needing a break from baseball, he sat out his freshman year of college before feeling a renewed urge to play the game. He transferred to St. Louis Community College–Meramec, a junior college, where he played for one season before transferring to the University of South Alabama. The San Diego Padres selected Freese in the ninth round of the 2006 MLB draft.

The Cardinals acquired Freese before the 2008 season. He made his MLB debut on Opening Day 2009 due to an injury to starting third baseman Troy Glaus. Despite suffering his own injuries in the minor leagues and in his first two MLB seasons, Freese batted .297 with 10 home runs and 55 RBIs during 2011, a season capped off by the Cardinals' 2011 World Series championship over the Texas Rangers, in which Freese was named MVP after hitting a walk-off home run in game 6 to send the series to game 7. The next season, he batted .293 with 20 home runs and was selected to his first MLB All-Star Game. Freese authored a 20-game hitting streak in 2013, but back injuries limited his effectiveness, and the Cardinals traded him to the Angels following the season. He played for the Angels for two seasons before signing with the Pirates in March 2016. The Pirates traded Freese to the Dodgers in 2018, and he retired after the 2019 season.