Freese, 2011 WS MVP, announces retirement

David Freese, the 2011 World Series Most Valuable Player with the St. Louis Cardinals, announced his retirement on Saturday after 11 seasons. "Padres, Cardinals, Angels, Pirates, and Dodgers. You took a 23-year old kid out of college and pushed him to 36," wrote Freese in a social media post, thanking all the clubs he was a part of during his career. "Can't thank you enough for that. Needed it. I will never stop thinking about the days I got to be around such wonderful people playing this game. As I move forward with the next phase of my life, I am forever grateful to all of you and the game of baseball."

Freese, 36, spent the past two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers playing mostly first base, and also spent time with the Los Angeles Angels and Pittsburgh Pirates. He is best known for his postseason heroics in St. Louis when he drove in 21 runs to set an MLB record. Freese also was named the 2011 NLCS MVP and was an All-Star in 2012.

Freese was a ninth-round pick by San Diego in the 2006 draft and made his major league debut with the Cardinals on April 2009, where he played for five seasons. This last season, Freese played in 79 games and posted a .315 batting average. Over his career, he batted .277 with 1,041 hits and 535 RBIs in 1,184 games.

--Field Level Media

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