Cardinals Conversations: David Freese | St. Louis Cardinals

Cardinals Conversations: David Freese | St. Louis Cardinals

It is my honor to introduce a gentleman who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball. Five of them wearing the birds on the bat. Your 2011 NLCS and World Series MVP. Give it up for David Freeze. Standing ovation. Sit down. Sit down. Hello. Yes, I think you’re on. I’ve mced a couple of these. That’s the first Anning O that I have seen at one of Yes. So, that’s not nothing right there. It was uh end of 2008. You get traded to your hometown club. Walk us through this how it went down first of all when you found out that you were coming to the Cardinals uh for the beginning of the ’09 season, right? Uh and then the emotions that were attached to that. I mean, there had to be a lot. I was outside of LA, kind of living out there in the winter. Um, I was sitting at a Burger King, hammering that place. Not even In-N-Out Burger. Burger King. Yeah. Randomly to Burger King. In-N-Out would have been better. And, uh, got a got a phone call from Mosaic welcoming me. Uh, I was his first trade, I believe, uh, as the GM. And, uh, nailed it. Um, didn’t believe, thought it was a buddy, you know, 314 number. Thought it was a buddy, just playing it. So I didn’t I didn’t respond and then like you know 45 minutes later the farm director from the Padres’s called me and I was like oh this is this is real. So uh he said you know they most said don’t tell anybody. Obviously I called everybody right away. I did ask immediately who I got traded for and he said Edmmonds. And I was sad but because my brain started thinking about all the all the guys that I watched you know in the 2000s and stuff and I’m like oh maybe you know maybe I could play with some of these guys. is and I loved uh Jim Edmonds, but he uh I believe the story with him is he turned down a deal to the White Socks because he wanted to go closer to home. Padres’s were an option and they matched up and found uh this old kid in high that could hit, you know, swapped and so I became a became a Cardinal and ended up going to Memphis that year. Played a full year there and then made the big leagues the next year. Let’s fast forward, right? It’s 2009. You’re making your major league debut. What do you remember about that? because you I’m sure as a kid you had at at very least you’ve watched uh big league opening day at Bush Stadium. What was that like taking part of your first one? I was terrified. I was uh it was cool. Tony didn’t not to say I should have but he started Brian Bonan who had some big league time. He started Barden at third to kind of give me a breather. You know that’s an example of Tony kind of caring about his guys a little bit. So, he didn’t throw me in the fire right away and let me just kind of settle in opening day and embrace it, enjoy it. But, man, I would have rather start the game than go in as a pinch fitter. It was raining in the middle of the sixth or seventh inning. I, you know, you you dream about hitting or your first at bat and stuff. I never thought I’d go in as a defensive replacement type double switch, you know, thing. And so, I ran out there, played defense, ended up getting a couple at bats. Um, but uh it was it was great to get that out of get that out of the way. Do you remember your first major league home run? I think it was Cincinnati. It may have been. It was definitely Cincinnati. I do not remember who it was off of. It was might have been Raone Ramirez. What was the pitch? Do we know that guy? Yeah. Eat her away maybe. And just uh we ended up winning Triple A PCL which was cool. I went down back down for a little bit but um in there. Yeah. Came came back and uh getting your first home run before the season ends. Such a treat, you know, just getting that out. September 29th. Thank you. That’s what I thought it was. Yep. As you know, but uh just Yeah. Nice to get that first one before the winter. Anybody here have fond memories of 2011? Yes. Yes. Does anybody remember that it wasn’t always perfect all season long? You remember that part of it? Because it was a bit of a grind. I forget exactly what the number was, Freezer, but it was like end of August, you guys. I want to say 10 and a half games back of the Braves. Is that correct? Exactly. that. So, dude, walk us through this this epic season. What were some of the the turning points down the stretch in September? I do know Chris Carpenter held a meeting and said, “Yeah, you know, kind of stop embarrassing ourselves a little bit.” We were 10 and a half back. Exactly. Braves uh came in, ended up sweeping them instantly, you know, seven and a half um around their back after a few days and uh absolutely for no reason whatsoever just took off that month. This is what helped us. Philly hadund what 99 wins going into last weekend against the Braves. They had clinched the East number one seed. They sat down and decided to not rest anybody. So they played their whole lineup for three straight days against the Braves and swept them and then we swept uh whoever we played and so we got to have a playin game right at in Houston. How huge is that? Yeah, it was unreal. Carpenter against a bunch of double A kids. So we yeah we went into Houston and won that game and then um waited for the Philly Braves game to end and uh we got in and partied in Houston. Two hit shut out for Carpenter to clench that wild card. Yeah. Two hit shutout. I mean the guy you want to talk about just heard this gentleman here say say beast. When you when you think Chris Carpenter I mean what what pops up for you? When I think about Chris Carpenter, I think about when you wake up in the morning and he’s on the mound. That’s all you think about all day. It’s playing behind him and not screwing up. And I’m not saying he’s going to bury you. Just respect him so much that you want to be a reason why you help him win a ball game. He’s an intimidating fella. He’ll love you to death. Uh he’s he’s the guy you want on the mound. Obviously, he basically uh ruined his arm winning us that World Series. It was incredible. left. You talk about leaving everything on the field. That’s exactly what Carpenter was all about. He was one of those guys, Freezer, for me, where I thought I worked hard until I watched him work. And I say, there’s another level to to what this is supposed to look like. NLDS, game five against the Phillies. It’s Carpenter, it’s Holiday. Best Buddies in this ball game. What sticks out the most to you about that game? Cuz that was an epic clash. facing 102 win team. Take it to game five. Car paladay, like you said, best friends every year for how many years they went across like around the world traveling together after the season. Y they both go nine nine complete uh innings. Um I think I might get it backwards, but I think Skippy hit a double first inning. For Call hit the triple or uh it was it was uh for call was on, Skip hit the double. That was the only run of the game. Yeah. skips that bat against Holiday who is by if anybody asked me who the toughest pitcher I ever faced in my career was it I always said Roy Holidayiday like just Nintendo stuff coming at you um and Skippy battled to like a nine or 11 pitch at bat didn’t give in just how Skip does it and uh in Philly cops all over that ballpark you feel like you’re in prison whatever that feels like uh you’re like the new guy in prison type of feeling you know um for nine innings just as tough tough tough place to play and uh you know we pulled it out and ended up uh you know going on. You are David Fes living in Wildwood family’s here and you are playing in the World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals. Paint that picture. I mean it’s how many years later and it still doesn’t feel entirely real. 15 years next year. All right. How do I look? Great. Way less gray than I’ve got. Um it’s insane. Like I said, it’s crazy enough to be a big leager, but to play for your hometown team, have a chance to be in the postseason, you know, get there, be in a World Series, couple World Series, um, win one, it shows a lot of people come into this town and play here, and they love the fans that they play in front of, whether they’re a home hometown team or the visiting team. Um, players don’t have to come in here and say that type of stuff. That’s the coolest thing about it. But to take the time and say that means a lot to you guys uh to play in front of you guys. But uh just an an insane feeling being in a World Series. I’ll tell you what, the best feeling was that I was playing well coming into the World Series to be honest because I was calm. I was relaxed. I wasn’t scared to fail. I wasn’t afraid of where I was at the plate. There was just a sense of relief. And I remember thinking this like playing well against the Brewers was such a comfortable feeling coming into the World Series and understanding that my mindset was like I’m ready to go. And so it just kind of slowed everything down. October 27th, 2011, ninth inning, two outs, two strikes. Albert let off, I believe. And what’s crazy is I’m fifth or sixth coming up. And so you’re sitting there going, if if I hit, I’m gonna be in it. You know, like there’s either going to be a couple outs and it’s tied or or the game’s over, you know, type of thing. But like, if I am hitting, that means I have a shot probably in some situation to tie this thing up or take the lead. Yeah. End up with I think Albert and Lance. Um, go figure. You know, th those guys better get it done. Freeze, you know. Um, I’m just staring in Albert’s eyes. He’s like, you know, going up against Feliz who was one of the best clos young closers in the game. Never have faced him before. Uh but again, I was so comfortable on deck. Uh so calm, not worried about what had happened or could happen soon just because I was playing well. And it’s we all know that feeling where you’re kind of just relaxed in the present moment. I mean, that’s just that’s just a real feeling. And so I went up to the plate um took a first pitch slider and I was like, “Okay, I see this guy.” And uh a couple more pitches I think. Then I waved through 101 on the outer half and I’m like, “Okay, that didn’t look very good.” And then I had a split I had a split thought of like, “This is how this game is going to end. He’s going to do that again. He wants to end it there. I looked terrible on that pitch.” One of the very few reasons why I hit that ball so hard and well that way is because I just saw the same pitch. put a good bat on it and Nelson Cruz thought it was over before that. I do want to say I smacked the crap out of Yeah, he did. Yeah, he did. Who cares about him? Like like you know, I know I know he should have caught it, but let’s be honest, that ball hit the wall and uh No, I uh I lost track of it. I think I had five or six thoughts before 90 ft before hitting first base of that’s going to because I hit so many balls that way and it’s our home field. I had a pretty good idea of like that might go and then I’m like okay that’s caught and then I’m like where is it and then I have what 52,000 packed screaming. I’m like oh wow that thing fell and then I saw then I then I saw the ball again coming back towards me and then Okendo’s staring at me saying are you going to get thrown out at third and I made it there and then you know kind of all hell broke loose and uh the game was tied. I I don’t even I’m sure you can’t even explain the emotions of hugging third base like there. I mean, that is that’s special. Yeah, it was wild. Uh I don’t even know what was going on to be honest. I just, you know, sat down on third, hit Oendo, and uh I mean, what a Yeah, what a feeling. What a feeling. As Cardinal fans, we will never ever forget that moment. Two innings later, the next moment. You got a whole landing with his name on it here for some reason. The weirdest thing about this entire run is that my name is in the stadium somewhere. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s fun having that out. Who was pitching that one? I should have known that one. Oh. Um, doesn’t matter. Who cares? Yeah. Mark Low just hard throwing righty. We were so deep into the game. He’s kind of the, you know, just a tough arm that uh was I don’t know how many guys they had left. Might have been the last guy. That’s kind of what we were getting at. I mean, Lo was bunting in the 10th in, you know, like which was awesome. Yeah, we were uh both both teams were running out of guys and uh I remember 3-1 got a heater up, I think, and it was high and I remember kind of just laying into Gary the umpire a little bit because I was leading off the inning and my only job, my only goal was to get on base. I wasn’t worried about anytime I’ve tried to hit a homer, I’ve grounded out to third, you know, like I’m not some guy that can just launch the ball like that. So, I was just trying to smack something hard somewhere and um with that strike call got to 3-2 and low uh you know I guess he had good command of his change up so he’s like you know with no it’s weird like you understand no outs that situation 3-2 you kind of just run a hard heater or something in the zone and and hope for the best but he I guess he liked his change up a little bit and he threw 90 m hour change up middle end and my barrel got out in front of it and it um you know it went out over Hamilton’s head. So, and then did you guys know after that moment that the next game was going to go your way? Sure. You had to. You had to. I was like, “Oh, I forgot we got one more.” Um yeah, didn’t really sleep that night. Just so jacked up. Um hanging out with buddies. Nobody’s understanding that this actually just happened. Just crazy feeling. The next morning I’m running through McDonald’s. I didn’t sleep all night. Like it was crazy. I was just like, “What in the what is going on here?” I remember I left my buddy’s place. I was switching apartments at the time. So, I didn’t have cable. So, I just stayed at my buddy’s apartment on the couch the whole month. And just you were the guy on the couch during the World Series run. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Perfect. And so, I finally was like, I got to get out of this apartment. There’s people still not sleeping, hanging out, and I’m like, I got to get out of here. So, I went to McDonald’s at like 7 in the morning, got two breakfast tacos, went back to my new apartment, and just slept till noon and then went to the field, you know, feeling like I had 15 hours of sleep, just fired up, ready to go. And we got ready for game seven. And I know we didn’t have a single meeting, you know, just smart. I know the Rangers had a meeting that leaked. Somebody, I think a clubby clubhouse guy recorded it and leaked it and they’re trying to fire the troops up. It’s a wild, wild recording. If you guys can search that down, you might want to look for it after this. Pretty good. Yeah. But yeah, we just treat it like a just a normal day. Just another day. Went to the yard. Big Mac was great with the hitters. He, you know, and and Aldo, just all the guys just keeping everybody calm. But we were like, the coolest thing about it was he had me, Allen, Craig, John J, Dalso. Like, we were young guys experience-wise in the big leagues, but we didn’t care, man. We were so ready. Like you look at any team that makes a run at it. There’s always younger guys that help in in very crucial situations and we were us four were all all over that run that World Series run of just kind of showing up and you need that from Albert all the way to me. Like you just need everyone to show up and if it doesn’t work out you bounce back and keep going. But we uh yeah we got into game seven and and um I guess we started off behind from the start again. I’d say it worked out pretty good. the most magical run. Seriously, 2011 that maybe uh we we have ever seen. I’ve been taking up all this time yapping at at David here. I want to open it up for some questions from you guys. Who’s got a question here for David Free? He’s got one here up front. Would you ever consider Question was, would you ever consider wearing the red jacket as a Cardinal Hall of Famer? I did expect this question. I’m glad it’s first. Um, I honestly haven’t thought about if I would ever wear it. I don’t even like saying why I should wear it. I do understand why I got voted in and why people expect to see me out there in the red coat. I am not opposed to one day it happening. I am not. I I do understand there are just things in my life about being a Cardinal, about how I didn’t hold up my end of the deal, staying a Cardinal with off the- field stuff, getting kind of traded out of here for me, for me as a person to help to help some things, some growth and everything. So, I think about it, man. I’ll be honest, and I’ve said this before, I thought about it after I got traded being a pirate, being a Dodger about getting voted in because I knew it was a thing. And so, I have thought about it before this ever happened. My only mistake pondering my decision after the votes were already happening. I should have just made it um I should have stuck with my gut talking to Mo and the Dwitz about before that process even started. So, I do apologize about having making the runaround of getting voted in and then kind of pulling myself out of it, but I am not opposed to it in the future. I just think I have to continue to figure some stuff out before those talks kind of pop up again. But I I will tell you the front office when I run into them over the last couple years, it uh this kind of shows how they are. They do bring up periodically that day happening. You know, that’s how much they think about me humbly. That’s how much they think about you guys voting me in. If that day does come, I will be the happiest guy in that in this stadium accepting it. So, we’ll see. Appreciate it. Yeah. Next year, there was to be two of your most special teammates lined up to be in. Do you feel they might sit the crowd to honor them when number four? I’d love to be there and root them on um and kind of embrace their special day if they’re voted in, obviously. Albert Poolhols. I was a f I was a senior at Lafayette when he was a rookie. I was talking to my buddy Tom over there about this a couple days ago. I was a senior when he was a rookie. A decade later, I won a ring with him. And a decade after that, he’s back here pumping home runs. Literally 20 years of that. Like that’s insane. Arguably the best right-hand hitter hitter to ever play the game. You get a chance to play with him. People ask me who my favorite teammate I’ve ever had. It’s Yachty. Um what he did on the field, how he commanded a a rotation. I mean, uh I don’t even know. You probably have a better word or 10 words to describe Yachty, but uh just the best to have around. He will he will hug you to death and he will look at you and grab you and say, “Let’s go.” As as hard as anybody can. Um, just a treat to be around all these guys that I played with. And I’ve always wondered whether watching video of the other pitchers all the time and things like that is that really helped you prepare was just clutter, you know, that that that got in the way of your preparation. Good question. Um, thank you. I think guys can get in the way of looking at themselves in video and having it be too much. I mean, he can probably do it laying in bed facing if he’s let’s say you face a guy 12 times. He can sit there and just pitch to him with his eyes closed and understand I’m going to do this if I if I get that done. I’m going to do this and you know I could sit and I could sit and watch Clayton Kershaw in my bed just and hit off them because I face them so much and understand what what it looks like coming at you. So, I think uh the video, especially how hard guys are throwing, how nasty um pitches are, it’s very beneficial to be able to um kind of build a rolodex of memory on what what’s what it looks like coming at you. Uh nowadays, they got VR. I know when I was with the Dodgers, it was kind of the breakout, man. when I was pinch hitting and an arm was about to come in, I would run in the back, put on a VR set and I would and then there’d be this circle in a mat and I would face this guy and balls would become pumping out with his action and it wasn’t necessarily about seeing what the pitches were doing. It was more about getting my timing down on his mechanics because pitchers are trying to just bust up your mecha your your timing and rhythm. And so if you’re kind of loading with the guy before you even get up there, you got a better shot of kind of matching up. God, you guys are cheaters. Unbelievable. VR headset. The sticky stuff is bad. Spider tack. Get over it. No, I like I like spider tac because they’re not going to do if they hit you in the neck. It’s on purpose cuz they got control. They knew better. Let’s go right here in the back. Yes. What are you doing now? You think you’re see yourself being a hitting coach or coach or helping kids? I like the kid thing. I um I’ll tell you what, these coaches here, pro ball, I wish more people sat back and understood how much time they put in here. Coaches at the pro level, especially probably big-time colleges are the same. Um they are here hours before and after the players come and go. I would love to do some coaching. I don’t know what organizations uh do, what they allow with uh kind of people coming in working, but um I am intrigued by that opportunity. You did some guest instructing this past year, right, in spring training. Yeah. You know, I went to camp for the first time in five years. First time being around a club. And I knew how I would feel before I went there. And it matched up the second I showed up. I loved being around the cages. I love how I love how I love how scared hitters are in the middle of February about how they’re going to play from the get-go. I miss that feeling of every day just grinding and wondering how the season’s going to be. It’s a good feeling. I love spring training, so I hope I’m back next year. I hope I get invited back next year and maybe can stay a little longer and be around the club. What a great group of guys. Um I know they’re trying to kind of get the team going again. kind of a new regime coming in. You know, some turnover, but it’s a good group down there that works hard and um you know, they’re going to turn it around. And I know this baseball in general is better when David Freeze is in it. So, I hope we see him more and more at the ballpark wearing the birds on the bat. Give it up one more time for your World Series MVP, David Freeze. He appreciate it.

Go inside the exclusive 2025 Cardinals Conversations series at Busch Stadium with this installment featuring 2011 World Series MVP David Freese.