DAVID FREESE

David Freese was raised in the Greater St. Louis area, in Wildwood, Missouri. He grew up a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. He attended Lafayette High School and played for the school’s baseball team as a shortstop. David recorded a Lafayette-record .533 batting average and 23 home runs in 2001 during his senior season. He was considered to be the best shortstop in the state. David was an American professional baseball third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball. Formerly with the St. Louis Cardinals, he was instrumental during the 2011 postseason, batting .545 with 12 hits in the 2011 National League Championship Series (NLCS). He also set an MLB postseason record of 21 runs batted in (RBI), earning the NLCS MVP Award and World Series MVP Award. In addition, Freese won the Babe Ruth Award, naming him the MVP of the entire 2011 MLB postseason.

A star high school player, Freese declined a college baseball scholarship from the University of Missouri. He enrolled at Missouri and studied computer science, while joining the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Needing a break from baseball, he sat out his freshman year of college before feeling a renewed urge to play the game after a visit back to Lafayette High School. David asked Tony Dattoli, the coach at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, for a roster spot. He then transferred to St. Louis Community College-Meramec, a junior college. In one season at St. Louis Community College, Freese hit .396 with 41 runs batted in and 10 home runs and was named to the National Junior College Athletic Association All-America second team.

Coach Dattoli recommended David Freese to the head coach of the Jaguars baseball team at the University of South Alabama. David then transferred to the University of South Alabama. At South Alabama opposing teams respected his hitting ability; scouts told their pitchers “Don’t let Freese beat us.” As a junior in 2005, Freese hit .373, with a .443 on base percentage, .525 slugging percentage, and 52 runs scored in 56 games. Freese was even better in 2006, hitting .414 with a .503 on base percentage and .661 slugging percentage with 73 runs and 73 RBIs in 60 games. He won the SBC batting title and led the conference in RBIs. He tied for ninth in the Division I in RBIs, 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 named an American Baseball Coaches Association All- American as the top third baseman in NCAA Division I.

Prior to the 2006 Major League Baseball draft, the Boston Red Sox attempted to sign Freese as a free agent for $90,000 signing bonus. However, South Alabama made the College World Series regional playoffs, which extended their season past the pre-draft signing deadline.

The San Diego Padres selected Freese from South Alabama in the ninth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. Before the 2008 season, the Cardinals acquired him in a trade for Jim Edmonds. 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 first two MLB seasons, Freese batted .297 with 10 home runs and 55 runs batted in (RBIs) during the Cardinals' 2011 World Series championship season. The next season, he batted .293 with 20 home runs and was selected to his first All-Star Game. Freese authored a 20-game hitting streak in 2013.