David Freese received some special recognition from St. Louis Cardinals fans during his return to Busch Stadium on Thursday.
Freese went back to St. Louis for the first time since June. This was also his first time in St. Louis since joining the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to the waiver trade deadline. Freese had to step out of the batter’s box prior to his first at-bat to properly respond to the standing ovation he received from the fans:
Freese played for the Cardinals from 2009 to 2013. He was an All-Star in 2012, but he’s best remembered for his heroics during the 2011 postseason. Freese batted .545 with a 1.691 OPS during the team’s NLCS win over the Brewers. He then batted .348 with a 1.160 OPS in the World Series win over Texas.
The barrage against Texas included a two-out, two-run triple to tie the game in Game 6, helping the Cardinals avoid elimination when down to their final out. Two innings later, he delivered a walk-off home run. Then in Game 7, he tied the game with a two-run double in the bottom of the first.
Freese was named both NLCS and World Series MVP that year.
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