Highlighted Year: Gene Freese, 1961

Third Baseman, Cincinnati Reds

Age: 27

1^st season with Reds

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 175 

Prior to 1961:

A native of Wheeling, West Virginia, Freese excelled as an athlete in high school and at West Liberty State College (now West Liberty University) despite his small stature (he was nicknamed “he Microbe” at that time). Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1953 he spent most of his first minor league season with Brunswick of the Class D Georgia-Florida League where he played second base and shortstop and batted .309 with 28 doubles, 7 triples, 9 home runs, 89 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, a .374 on-base percentage, and a .459 slugging percentage. He also began to fill out physically at age 19. Promoted to the New Orleans Pelicans of the Class AA Southern Association in 1954, Freese had an outstanding season, hitting .332 with 30 doubles, 6 triples, 16 home runs, 98 RBIs, a .376 OBP, and a .496 slugging percentage. Defensively he appeared exclusively at second base while his older brother George played at third. The Freese brothers joined the Pirates in 1955, but George only appeared in 51 games before returning to the minors. Gene primarily appeared at third base and also saw significant action at second. In a late May game against the Phillies that went into extra innings, Freese reached first base in the tenth inning with another Pirate on third. A hit to the outfield scored the batter from third but Freese failed to run to second base, instead trotting back to the dugout. The Philadelphia shortstop waved fo center fielder Richie Ashburn to throw him the ball after which he stepped on second base. The umpires declared a force out at second due to Freese’s failure to tag second base before departing the field and the Pittsburgh run was nullified. The Phillies went on to win in the eleventh inning and the newspaper accounts compared Freese’s error to the famous “Merkle’s boner” play in 1908 which proved to have a decisive effect on the pennant race when Giants rookie Fred Merkle also failed to touch second base in similar circumstances. The Pirates were far from being contenders at this, or any other, part of the 1955 season, but the misplay by Freese became a long-remembered highlight (or lowlight) from his career. For his rookie season he batted .253 with 21 doubles, 8 triples, 14 home runs, 44 RBIs, and a .310 OBP. Freese started the 1956 season with the Pirates but in June was sent down to the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League where, over the course of 68 games, he hit .274 with 10 doubles, 11 home runs, 36 RBIs, and a .321 OBP. Receiving a September call-up to the Pirates, for the major league portion of his season he ended up playing in 65 games and batted .208 with 3 home runs, 14 RBIs, and a .273 OBP. He also picked up the long-lasting nickname of “Augie” following an altercation with umpire Augie Donatelli prior to being sent down to Hollywood. Freese was Pittsburgh’s primary third baseman in 1957 while splitting time with Gene Baker and Frank Thomas. He hit .283 with 18 doubles, 6 home runs, 31 RBIs, and a .319 OBP. Little used by the Pirates during the early part of the 1958 season, Freese was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in June for utility infielder Dick Schofield and cash. Appearing in 62 games for the Cardinals, mostly at shortstop, second base, and as a pinch-hitter because durable star Ken Boyer was firmly installed at third base, Freese batted .257 with 11 doubles, 6 home runs, 16 RBIs, and a .294 OBP. At season’s end he was dealt again, this time to the Philadelphia Phillies for infielder Solly Hemus, who was named as manager of the Cardinals for 1959. Not playing regularly for the Phillies at third base in 1959 until June, Freese batted .268 with 23 home runs, 70 RBIs, a .343 OBP, and a .500 slugging percentage. He particularly excelled as a pinch-hitter, in which role he hit .350 in 20 at bats with 5 homers, 13 RBIs, a .364 OBP, and a 1.150 slugging percentage. In the offseason Freese was traded once again, this time to the Chicago White Sox for up-and-coming outfielder Johnny Callison. As the starting third baseman for the White Sox in 1960, he hit .273 with 32 doubles, 6 triples, 17 home runs, 79 RBIs, a .312 OBP, and a .481 slugging percentage. He also performed well defensively. Once again Freese was dealt in the offseason, returning to the National League with the Reds for pitchers Cal McLish and Juan Pizarro.

1961 Season Summary

Appeared in 152 games

3B – 151, 2B – 1, PH – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 606 [16]

At Bats – 575 [11]

Runs – 78 [16]

Hits – 159 [15]

Doubles – 27 [12, tied with Gordy Coleman & Don Hoak]

Triples – 2

Home Runs – 26 [11, tied with Gordy Coleman]

RBI – 87 [13, tied with Gordy Coleman & Vada Pinson]

Bases on Balls – 27

Int. BB – 5

Strikeouts – 78 [14, tied with Frank Thomas]

Stolen Bases – 8 [16, tied with Bill White, Jose Pagan & Jim Gilliam]

Caught Stealing – 2

Average - .277

OBP - .307

Slugging Pct. - .466 [19]

Total Bases – 268 [14]

GDP – 17 [9]

Hit by Pitches – 0

Sac Hits – 1

Sac Flies – 3 

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 18, HR - 18, RBI - 60, AVG - .296, OBP - .328, SLG - .533

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) at Philadelphia 6/18

Longest hitting streak – 12 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 3 AB) at LA Dodgers 5/31, (in 4 AB) at LA Dodgers 8/16, (in 3 AB) vs. Pittsburgh 9/19

HR at home – 13

HR on road – 13

Multi-HR games – 3

Most RBIs, game – 4 vs. Mil. Braves 6/8, at St. Louis 6/11, at LA Dodgers 8/16, vs. Pittsburgh 9/19

Pinch-hitting – 0 for 1 (.000)

Fielding

Chances – 397

Put Outs – 123

Assists – 254

Errors – 20

DP - 23

Pct. - .950 

Postseason Batting: 5 G (World Series vs. NY Yankees)

PA – 19, AB – 16, R – 0, H – 1, 2B – 1,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 3, IBB – 2, SO – 4, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .063, OBP - .211, SLG - .125, TB – 2, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

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The Reds went 93-61 to win the NL pennant by 4 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers, while leading the league in doubles (247). The lightly regarded Reds were paced by their formidable hitting, which included Freese, and decent starting pitching that featured righthanders Joey Jay and Bob Purkey, and LHP Jim O’Toole, supported by relievers Jim Brosnan and Bill Henry. They put together a 54-30 first half and remained strong down the stretch to hold off the Dodgers and nail down the first Cincinnati pennant since 1940. Lost World Series to the New York Yankees, 4 games to 1.

Aftermath of 1961:

 A broken ankle suffered during spring training effectively finished Freese for the 1962 season as he appeared in only 18 games. Hitting poorly during the early going in 1963, Freese was sent down to San Diego of the Pacific Coast League in May (much to his displeasure) where he batted .281 in 54 games with 12 home runs, 34 RBIs, and a .346 OBP. Returning to the Reds in July he hit .244 for the year in Cincinnati with 6 home runs, 26 RBIs, and a .303 OBP. In the offseason he found himself on the move once again, returning to the Pirates for cash. Primarily a backup to young third baseman Bob Bailey in 1964, Freese appeared in 99 games and batted a mere .225 with 13 doubles, 9 home runs, 40 RBIs, and a .269 OBP. Little used by the Pirates in 1965 he was sold to the Chicago White Sox in August to provide a right-handed bat off the bench and also to act as a prod to underperforming third baseman Pete Ward. In his return to the White Sox he appeared in 17 games and hit .281 with a .368 OBP. His combined season totals were .268 with a home run, 12 RBIs, and a .339 OBP. With his major league career drawing to a close, Freese divided 1966 between the White Sox and Houston Astros with unimpressive results. Released by Houston in the offseason, he played two more seasons in the minors prior to retiring in 1968. For his major league career, Freese batted .254 with 877 hits that included 161 doubles, 28 triples, and 115 home runs. He scored 429 runs and compiled 432 RBIs, a .305 OBP, and a .418 slugging percentage. With the Reds he batted .261 and scored 100 runs with 37 doubles, 3 triples, 32 home runs, 114 RBIs, a .303 OBP, and a .428 slugging percentage. The 1961 World Series marked his only postseason action. A journeyman player who was at his best for the pennant-winning 1961 Reds, following baseball Freese was involved in business in New Orleans that included operating a sports tavern. He was inducted into the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and died at age 79 in 2013. His brother George, who was a minor league and briefly major league teammate, had a 17-year minor league playing career with only brier stops in the majors.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.