page_title: David Freese
section_title: 2011: Breakout season
hierarchical_section_title: David Freese / Professional career / St. Louis Cardinals / 2011: Breakout season
caption_attribution_description: David Freese
context_page_description: David Richard Freese is an American former professional baseball corner infielder in Major League Baseball. He began his MLB career with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he was a key player during the 2011 postseason, batting .545 with 12 hits in the 2011 National League Championship Series. He also set an MLB postseason record of 21 runs batted in, earning 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.
context_section_description: Freese was projected to start the 2011 season, and he was named the starter on Opening Day, despite suffering minor ailments during spring training.  He started off the year batting over .320, but he missed 51 games after being hit by a pitch that fractured his left hand. After returning to the starting lineup, he finished the season with a .297 batting average, 10 home runs, and 55 RBIs. He recorded hits in eight of the final nine regular-season games. Freese credited his improvement in power hitting to hitting coach Mark McGwire, who helped him refine his stroke.
caption: Freese on the basepaths with the Cardinals
exif: {}