David Freese
Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2009-2019)
David Freese was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 2009 to 2019 for 4 teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 11 seasons. In 1,184 career games, he hit .277 with 1,041 hits, 113 home runs, and 535 RBI. David Freese was an All-Star, a World Series MVP, an NLCS MVP, and a Babe Ruth Award. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 5,246.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Third Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'2" / 213 lb
- MLB Debut
- 2009-04-06
- Last Game
- 2019-09-28
- Awards
- All-Star · World Series MVP · NLCS MVP · Babe Ruth Award
Full name: David Richard Freese
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,184 | 3,758 | 481 | 1,041 | 197 | 7 | 113 | 535 | 8 | 370 | 974 | .277 | .351 | .423 | .775 | 5,246 |
Career AVG .277 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — +8.9% above league average.
Career OBP .351 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — +9.4% above league average.
Career SLG .423 vs. league average .409 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OPS .775 vs. league average .730 across their career seasons — +6.1% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | SLN | NL | 17 | 31 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 7 | .323 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2010 | SLN | NL | 70 | 240 | 28 | 71 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 36 | 1 | 21 | 59 | .296 | .257 (+15%) | .325 (+11%) | .402 (avg) | .728 (+5%) | 275.9 |
| 2011 | SLN | NL | 97 | 333 | 41 | 99 | 16 | 1 | 10 | 55 | 1 | 24 | 75 | .297 | .255 (+17%) | .320 (+9%) | .399 (+11%) | .719 (+10%) | 633.8 |
| 2012 | SLN | NL | 144 | 501 | 70 | 147 | 25 | 1 | 20 | 79 | 3 | 57 | 122 | .293 | .254 (+15%) | .318 (+17%) | .405 (+15%) | .724 (+16%) | 1780.6 |
| 2013 | SLN | NL | 138 | 462 | 53 | 121 | 26 | 1 | 9 | 60 | 1 | 47 | 106 | .262 | .253 (+3%) | .317 (+7%) | .396 (-4%) | .714 (+1%) | 215.5 |
| 2014 | LAA | AL | 134 | 462 | 53 | 120 | 25 | 1 | 10 | 55 | 1 | 38 | 124 | .260 | .251 (+3%) | .313 (+2%) | .386 (-1%) | .700 (+1%) | 67.6 |
| 2015 | LAA | AL | 121 | 424 | 53 | 109 | 27 | 0 | 14 | 56 | 1 | 31 | 107 | .257 | .254 (+1%) | .316 (+2%) | .404 (+4%) | .721 (+3%) | 277.0 |
| 2016 | PIT | NL | 141 | 437 | 63 | 118 | 23 | 0 | 13 | 55 | 0 | 45 | 142 | .270 | .255 (+6%) | .321 (+9%) | .417 (-1%) | .738 (+3%) | 474.5 |
| 2017 | PIT | NL | 130 | 426 | 44 | 112 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 52 | 0 | 58 | 116 | .263 | .254 (+3%) | .324 (+13%) | .425 (-13%) | .750 (-2%) | 172.6 |
| 2018 | PIT | NL | 94 | 241 | 29 | 68 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 42 | 0 | 18 | 56 | .282 | .247 (+14%) | .318 (+6%) | .409 (+8%) | .727 (+7%) | 310.7 |
| 2018 | LAN | NL | 19 | 39 | 9 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 16 | .385 | — | — | — | — | 310.7 |
| 2019 | LAN | NL | 79 | 162 | 35 | 51 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 29 | 0 | 23 | 44 | .315 | .252 (+25%) | .322 (+25%) | .434 (+38%) | .757 (+32%) | 1038.4 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 1,184 | 3,758 | 481 | 1,041 | 197 | 7 | 113 | 535 | 8 | 370 | 974 | .277 | — | — | — | — | 5,557 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 69 | 204 | 26 | 61 | 17 | 2 | 10 | 36 | 20 | 55 | .299 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | NLDS1 | LAN | 4 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .500 |
| 2018 | NLCS | LAN | 6 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .250 |
| 2018 | NLDS2 | LAN | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| 2018 | WS | LAN | 5 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .417 |
| 2014 | ALDS1 | LAA | 3 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | .125 |
| 2013 | NLCS | SLN | 6 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .190 |
| 2013 | NLDS1 | SLN | 5 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | .188 |
| 2013 | WS | SLN | 6 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | .158 |
| 2012 | NLCS | SLN | 7 | 26 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | .192 |
| 2012 | NLDS1 | SLN | 5 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | .421 |
| 2012 | NLWC | SLN | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| 2011 | NLCS | SLN | 6 | 22 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 2 | .545 |
| 2011 | NLDS1 | SLN | 5 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 9 | .278 |
| 2011 | WS | SLN | 7 | 23 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 3 | .348 |
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1184 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 602 | 1864 | 235 | 524 | 57 | 275 | .281 |
| Away | 582 | 1894 | 246 | 517 | 56 | 260 | .273 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-09-28 | LAD | SFG | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019-09-27 | LAD | SFG | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019-09-26 | LAD | SDP | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019-09-22 | LAD | COL | W | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019-09-21 | LAD | COL | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019-09-18 | LAD | TBR | L | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019-09-17 | LAD | TBR | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2019-09-11 | LAD | BAL | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019-09-10 | LAD | BAL | W | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019-09-06 | LAD | SFG | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 149 | 97 | 837 | 58 | 8 | 77 |
| 2B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3B | 916 | 876 | 456 | 1557 | 90 | 183 |
| C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | SLN | 1B | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2009 | SLN | 3B | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 2009 | SLN | C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | SLN | 1B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | SLN | 3B | 66 | 64 | 31 | 139 | 9 | 22 |
| 2011 | SLN | 1B | 5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2011 | SLN | 3B | 88 | 87 | 33 | 159 | 12 | 23 |
| 2012 | SLN | 3B | 134 | 133 | 77 | 259 | 18 | 29 |
| 2013 | SLN | 3B | 132 | 129 | 55 | 190 | 11 | 21 |
| 2014 | LAA | 3B | 122 | 119 | 67 | 162 | 8 | 18 |
| 2015 | LAA | 3B | 113 | 112 | 54 | 179 | 8 | 13 |
| 2016 | PIT | 1B | 58 | 34 | 344 | 31 | 3 | 42 |
| 2016 | PIT | 2B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | PIT | 3B | 78 | 71 | 40 | 157 | 8 | 17 |
| 2017 | PIT | 1B | 3 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2017 | PIT | 3B | 116 | 114 | 66 | 222 | 12 | 29 |
| 2018 | PIT | 1B | 15 | 11 | 95 | 9 | 1 | 8 |
| 2018 | PIT | 3B | 55 | 42 | 27 | 84 | 4 | 10 |
| 2018 | LAN | 1B | 14 | 12 | 80 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| 2018 | LAN | 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | LAN | 1B | 50 | 37 | 287 | 13 | 2 | 18 |
| 2019 | LAN | 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 1 |
| First Base | 149 |
| Second Base | 2 |
| Third Base | 916 |
| Designated Hitter | 25 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Babe Ruth Award | P |
| 2011 | NLCS MVP | |
| 2011 | This Year in Baseball Postseason MVP | MLB.com GIBBY |
| 2011 | This Year in Baseball Postseason Moment of the Year | MLB.com GIBBY |
| 2011 | World Series MVP | |
| 2010 | Player of the Week | Week of 2010-05-02 |
Salary History
David Freese's recorded salaries total $19,349,000 over 8 seasons, 2009 to 2016. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Freese's career ran from 2009 to 2019. His seasons after 2016 are not included.
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | PIT | NL | $3,000,000 |
| 2015 | LAA | AL | $6,425,000 |
| 2014 | LAA | AL | $5,050,000 |
| 2013 | SLN | NL | $3,150,000 |
| 2012 | SLN | NL | $508,000 |
| 2011 | SLN | NL | $416,000 |
| 2010 | SLN | NL | $400,000 |
| 2009 | SLN | NL | $400,000 |
| Total recorded salary (partial) | $19,349,000 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Community College - Meramec Campus | Kirkwood | MO | 2003, 2004 |
| University of South Alabama | Mobile | AL | 2005, 2006 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
David Freese (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
David Freese: the record in brief
Between the debut on April 6, 2009 and the final game on September 28, 2019, David Freese built the record summarized on this page. By club, Freese's seasons break down as the St. Louis Cardinals (2009 to 2013), the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2014 to 2015), the Pittsburgh Pirates (2016 through 2018), and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2018 through 2019). Born on April 28, 1983, in Corpus Christi, TX, USA, Freese is listed as a third baseman and both batted and threw right-handed. Freese's listed size is 6-foot-2 and 213 pounds. David Freese was the playing name; the full given name is David Richard.
Freese collected 1,041 hits in 3,758 at bats across 1,184 games, good for a .277 batting average, along with 113 home runs and 535 runs batted in. Freese got on base at a .351 rate and slugged .423 (.775 OPS). The league as a whole hit .254 across Freese's seasons, which puts the .277 career mark 8.9% above average.
Frequently Asked Questions about David Freese
- What years did David Freese play?
- David Freese played in Major League Baseball from 2009 to 2019.
- Was David Freese a pitcher?
- No. David Freese was a position player (Third Baseman).
- How many home runs did David Freese hit?
- David Freese hit 113 career home runs with 1,041 hits.
- What teams did David Freese play for?
- David Freese played for 4 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (2009–2013), the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2014–2015), the Pittsburgh Pirates (2016–2018), and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2018–2019).
- Did David Freese win an MVP award?
- No. David Freese did not win the MVP award.
- What awards did David Freese win?
- David Freese won the World Series MVP award (2011). He was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
- What were David Freese's career stats?
- In 1,184 games, David Freese had 1,041 hits, 113 home runs, 535 RBI, 481 runs, and 8 stolen bases, with a .277 batting average.
- How much did David Freese earn in his career?
- David Freese's recorded salaries total $19,349,000 over 8 seasons, 2009 to 2016. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Freese's career ran from 2009 to 2019. His seasons after 2016 are not included.
- What was David Freese's salary?
- David Freese's last recorded salary was $3,000,000, in 2016. His highest recorded salary was $6,425,000, in 2015, and his lowest was $400,000, in 2009. The Salary History table lists each season from 2009 to 2016.
- What position did David Freese play?
- David Freese played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was David Freese and how much did he weigh?
- David Freese was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 213 pounds.
- How many home runs did David Freese hit each season?
- David Freese's home runs by season: 1 in 2009, 4 in 2010, 10 in 2011, 20 in 2012, 9 in 2013, 10 in 2014, 14 in 2015, 13 in 2016, 10 in 2017, 11 in 2018, and 11 in 2019. His most in one season was 20, in 2012.
- What was David Freese's career batting average?
- David Freese batted .277 over his career, with 1,041 hits in 3,758 at bats.
- How many RBI did David Freese have?
- David Freese drove in 535 runs in his career.