David Freese was one of the lucky players at the MLB trade deadline this year who went from a mediocre team to a World Series contender, and he was not afraid to call attention to that after the Los Angeles Dodgers punched their ticket to the NLCS on Monday.
Freese, who was a hero for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 2011 postseason, was asked by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports how special it is to get back to the playoffs. He responded by essentially saying he was convinced he was going to spin his wheels with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the rest of 2018.
David Freese had a CLUTCH hit in tonight's Postseason game! (We feel like we've heard this before)
He joins @Ken_Rosenthal after the @Dodgers W. pic.twitter.com/KRsbIDbJ5k
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 9, 2018
“It’s more special than I can honestly even say, because I didn’t expect this. I expected to finish in Pitt and ride it out this year,” Freese said. “To end up not only on a playoff contender, but with an organization like this, it’s incredible. Then you get to be around these beasts and an organization that wants to go for it and everything. It’s just a lot of fun.”
The Pirates actually improved their team at the non-waiver trade deadline by adding starting pitcher Chris Archer, but it sounds like Freese was convinced he was going to miss out on postseason play for the third straight year with his former team. The Dodgers, on the other hand, are always making major moves in an attempt to make a title run, and they’re even hungrier after falling just one game short a year ago.
Freese seems like he was built for the postseason, and Cardinals fans reminded us of that with the reception they gave him during a recent game. It would not be a surprise if he comes up clutch for the Dodgers at some point during the NLCS or beyond.
