What years did Gene Freese play?

Gene Freese played in Major League Baseball from 1955 to 1966.

Was Gene Freese a pitcher?

No. Gene Freese was a position player (Third Baseman).

How many home runs did Gene Freese hit?

Gene Freese hit 115 career home runs with 877 hits.

What were Gene Freese's career stats?

In 1,115 games, Gene Freese had 877 hits, 115 home runs, 432 RBI, 429 runs, and 51 stolen bases, with a .254 batting average.

What position did Gene Freese play?

Gene Freese played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Gene Freese and how much did he weigh?

Gene Freese was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 175 pounds.

How many home runs did Gene Freese hit each season?

Gene Freese's home runs by season: 14 in 1955, 3 in 1956, 6 in 1957, 7 in 1958, 23 in 1959, 17 in 1960, 26 in 1961, 0 in 1962, 6 in 1963, 9 in 1964, 1 in 1965, and 3 in 1966. His most in one season was 26, in 1961.

What was Gene Freese's career batting average?

Gene Freese batted .254 over his career, with 877 hits in 3,446 at bats.

How many RBI did Gene Freese have?

Gene Freese drove in 432 runs in his career.

Is Gene Freese in the Hall of Fame?

No. Gene Freese has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Gene Freese

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1955-1966)

Gene Freese was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1955 to 1966 for 6 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,115 career games, he hit .254 with 877 hits, 115 home runs, and 432 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 1,052.

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 October 15, 2026

AVG .254

HR 115

RBI 432

H 877

OPS .723

PIV 1,052

Position: Third Baseman
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 5'11" / 175 lb
Born: 1/8/1934 in Wheeling, WV, USA
Died: 6/19/2013 in New Orleans, LA, USA
MLB Debut: 1955-04-13
Last Game: 1966-09-03

Full name: Eugene Lewis Freese

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Career Batting Statistics

Gene Freese — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1,115	3,446	429	877	161	28	115	432	51	243	535	.254	.305	.418	.723	1,052

Career AVG .254 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .305 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .418 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — +8.1% above league average.

Career OPS .723 vs. league average .707 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Gene Freese Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1955	PIT	NL	134	455	69	115	21	8	14	44	5	34	57	.253	.258 (-2%)	.332 (-7%)	.393 (+8%)	.726 (+1%)	-12.9
1956	PIT	NL	65	207	17	43	9	0	3	14	2	16	45	.208	.258 (-20%)	.331 (-18%)	.397 (-26%)	.728 (-22%)	-736.0
1957	PIT	NL	114	346	44	98	18	2	6	31	9	17	42	.283	.257 (+10%)	.323 (-2%)	.391 (+2%)	.715 (avg)	-32.6
1958	PIT	NL	17	18	1	3	0	0	1	2	0	1	2	.167	—	—	—	—	0.0
1958	SLN	NL	62	191	28	49	11	1	6	16	1	10	32	.257	.257 (-1%)	.324 (-10%)	.394 (+6%)	.719 (-1%)	0.0
1959	PHI	NL	132	400	60	107	14	5	23	70	8	43	61	.268	.256 (+4%)	.323 (+6%)	.392 (+28%)	.715 (+18%)	1350.9
1960	CHA	AL	127	455	60	124	32	6	17	79	10	29	65	.273	.255 (+7%)	.323 (-4%)	.387 (+24%)	.711 (+12%)	736.7
1961	CIN	NL	152	575	78	159	27	2	26	87	8	27	78	.277	.258 (+7%)	.328 (-6%)	.399 (+17%)	.727 (+6%)	508.0
1962	CIN	NL	18	42	2	6	1	0	0	1	0	6	8	.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
1963	CIN	NL	66	217	20	53	9	1	6	26	4	17	42	.244	.246 (-1%)	.308 (-2%)	.371 (+2%)	.680 (avg)	-15.8
1964	PIT	NL	99	289	33	65	13	2	9	40	1	19	45	.225	.250 (-10%)	.312 (-14%)	.377 (avg)	.690 (-6%)	-373.8
1965	PIT	NL	43	80	6	21	4	0	0	8	0	6	18	.263	.245 (+7%)	.310 (+5%)	.371 (-16%)	.682 (-6%)	-62.0
1965	CHA	AL	17	32	2	9	0	1	1	4	0	5	9	.281	—	—	—	—	-62.0
1966	CHA	AL	48	106	8	22	2	0	3	10	2	8	20	.208	.248 (-16%)	.309 (-13%)	.376 (-17%)	.685 (-15%)	-235.6
1966	HOU	NL	21	33	1	3	0	0	0	0	1	5	11	.091	—	—	—	—	-235.6
Career · 15 seasons			1,115	3,446	429	877	161	28	115	432	51	243	535	.254	—	—	—	—	829

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

Gene Freese — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
5	16	0	1	1	0	0	0	3	4	.062

Playoff Batting by Year

Gene Freese — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1961	WS	CIN	5	16	0	1	1	0	0	0	3	4	.062

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1115 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Gene Freese — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	566	1676	212	425	50	215	.254
Away	549	1770	218	452	65	218	.255

Last 10 Games — Batting

Gene Freese — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	BB	SO
1966-09-03	HOU	ATL	L	3	0	0	0
1966-09-03	HOU	ATL	L	3	1	0	1
1966-08-31	HOU	PHI	L	1	0	0	0
1966-08-30	HOU	PIT	L	2	0	0	2
1966-08-28	HOU	CHC	W	0	0	1	0
1966-08-26	HOU	CHC	W	1	0	0	1
1966-08-17	HOU	ATL	L	1	0	0	1
1966-08-16	HOU	ATL	L	1	0	0	0
1966-08-12	HOU	SFG	L	3	0	0	1
1966-08-09	HOU	CHC	W	1	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Gene Freese — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
2B	117	89	216	275	16	57
3B	781	735	589	1341	136	129
OF	12	8	21	1	2	0
SS	28	27	45	52	8	10

Season-by-Season Fielding

Gene Freese — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1955	PIT	2B	57	52	128	173	11	41
1955	PIT	3B	65	64	55	127	11	16
1956	PIT	2B	26	15	31	50	0	7
1956	PIT	3B	47	35	38	65	4	2
1957	PIT	2B	10	4	13	16	0	4
1957	PIT	3B	74	69	62	132	16	16
1957	PIT	OF	10	7	19	1	2	0
1958	PIT	3B	1	1	0	4	1	0
1958	SLN	2B	14	13	32	25	4	4
1958	SLN	3B	3	2	5	6	0	0
1958	SLN	SS	28	27	45	52	8	10
1959	PHI	2B	6	3	8	4	1	1
1959	PHI	3B	109	103	83	156	22	15
1960	CHA	3B	122	120	88	263	20	29
1961	CIN	2B	1	0	2	0	0	0
1961	CIN	3B	151	151	123	254	20	23
1962	CIN	3B	10	10	11	10	0	1
1963	CIN	3B	62	62	44	103	11	8
1963	CIN	OF	1	0	0	0	0	0
1964	PIT	3B	72	67	48	112	14	12
1965	PIT	3B	19	17	12	27	2	1
1965	CHA	3B	8	8	4	10	3	1
1966	CHA	3B	34	24	12	64	9	5
1966	HOU	2B	3	2	2	7	0	0
1966	HOU	3B	4	2	4	8	3	0
1966	HOU	OF	1	1	2	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Gene Freese Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Second Base	117
Third Base	781
Shortstop	28
Left Field	12

College History

Gene Freese — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
West Liberty State College	West Liberty	WV	1952

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Gene Freese (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Gene Freese: the record in brief

April 13, 1955 and September 3, 1966 bracket Gene Freese's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the Pittsburgh Pirates (1955 through 1965), the St. Louis Cardinals (1958), the Philadelphia Phillies (1959), the Chicago White Sox (1960 through 1966), the Cincinnati Reds (1961 through 1963), and the Houston Astros (1966). Freese played primarily as a third baseman and threw and hit right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on January 8, 1934, in Wheeling, WV, USA and a listed size of 175 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. Freese's death is recorded on June 19, 2013, in New Orleans, LA, USA. Freese's full given name, per the bio, is Eugene Lewis Freese.

Freese's career batting table shows 1,115 games, 3,446 at bats and 877 hits, a .254 average, adding 115 home runs, 432 RBI, and 51 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .305 clip and slugging .418, Freese finished with a .723 OPS.

Frequently Asked Questions about Gene Freese

What years did Gene Freese play?: Gene Freese played in Major League Baseball from 1955 to 1966.
Was Gene Freese a pitcher?: No. Gene Freese was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Gene Freese hit?: Gene Freese hit 115 career home runs with 877 hits.
What teams did Gene Freese play for?: Gene Freese played for 6 teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates (1955–1958, 1964–1965), the St. Louis Cardinals (1958), the Philadelphia Phillies (1959), the Chicago White Sox (1960, 1965–1966), the Cincinnati Reds (1961–1963), and the Houston Astros (1966).
What were Gene Freese's career stats?: In 1,115 games, Gene Freese had 877 hits, 115 home runs, 432 RBI, 429 runs, and 51 stolen bases, with a .254 batting average.
What position did Gene Freese play?: Gene Freese played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Gene Freese and how much did he weigh?: Gene Freese was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 175 pounds.
How many home runs did Gene Freese hit each season?: Gene Freese's home runs by season: 14 in 1955, 3 in 1956, 6 in 1957, 7 in 1958, 23 in 1959, 17 in 1960, 26 in 1961, 0 in 1962, 6 in 1963, 9 in 1964, 1 in 1965, and 3 in 1966. His most in one season was 26, in 1961.
What was Gene Freese's career batting average?: Gene Freese batted .254 over his career, with 877 hits in 3,446 at bats.
How many RBI did Gene Freese have?: Gene Freese drove in 432 runs in his career.
Is Gene Freese in the Hall of Fame?: No. Gene Freese has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.