While David Freese retired as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, he will be remembered for his playoff heroics for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Every postseason has their hero, and David Freese was exactly that for the St. Louis Cardinals. In the 2011 postseason, the Missouri native had his coming out party for his hometown team, being named the MVP of the World Series that year. His two run, two out triple in the bottom of the ninth in Game Six tied the game, which he later won with a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Freese then tied Game Seven back up with his two run double after the Rangers had jumped out to an early 2-0 lead.
Now with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Freese has decided to call it a career. He announced on his Twitter account that, after 11 seasons, he has made the decision to retire.
— David Freese (@DavidFreese) October 12, 2019
Freese had a solid career in the majors. He played for five different franchises, posting a lifetime .277/.351/.423 batting line, hitting 197 doubles and 113 homers. An All Star in 2012, Freese had eight seasons with double digit homers, including his 11 home runs in just 186 plate appearances for the Dodgers this year.
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As solid as his career was, Freese truly shined when the lights were brightest. His performance in the 2011 postseason will be one that Cardinals fans will remember forever, as he was the NLCS and World Series MVPs. He hit three homers in the NLCS that year, becoming a hero in his home town.
However, his postseason heroics were not limited to that one year. Over the 14 different postseason series in played in, Freese produced an excellent .299/.370/.549 batting line, belting ten homers and 17 doubles. That excellent performance continued to the end, as Freese had four hits in eight plate appearances during this season’s NLDS.
It is not just his October production that will be missed. Freese had become a valued veteran leader, a key player in the clubhouse. He also, obviously, knew how to win, and what it took to handle the pressure of the postseason. Freese will certainly be missed now that he has hung up his spikes for the final time.
David Freese had several great moments in his career, but he will always be remembered for what he did with the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2011 postseason. After 11 seasons, he has decided that it is time to walk away.