St. Louis Cardinals’ David Freese is NLCS MVP – MLB Update
St. Louis Cardinals’ third baseman David Freese was rightfully selected as National League’s Most Valuable Player on Sunday, October 16 after he helped his team crush the Milwaukee Brewers 12-6 at Miller Park in Milwaukee and subsequently qualify for the
World Series.
After being scratched for almost two months in the regular season citing a broken hand, Freese has dominated the stage in the playoffs. In the NLCS alone, Freese went 12-for-22, driving in nine runs in addition to scoring seven. Three of these runs came
as homers for Freese, who finished with an average of .545.
Game 6 completed Freese’s breakout postseason. He went 3-for-4 in the game, driving in three runs and scoring three for the line-up which includes the likes of Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday. Not only did he help the Redbirds in qualifying
for the World Series, but proved his worth as a utility player, especially with Pujols likely to leave at the end of the season.
With World Series up next, the youngster will be upbeat to produce a similar performance against the Texas Rangers.
His priceless contributions throughout the NLCS coupled with his performance against the Philadelphia Phillies earned him a promotion in the line-up from the seventh slot to the sixth. Against the NL East Champions, Freese drove in five runs in five games,
including a home-run.
Berkman praised the youngster for his contributions to the team and said, "We all knew that he was that kind of player. Now he's doing it on a national stage. He's a great player. He will be one of the premier third basemen in the league for the next few
years, for sure."
Only Lou Gehrig of New York Yankees has produced a performance of Freese’s quality in the past. Yankees’ first baseman produced nine RBIs including four home-runs and averaged .545 against the Cardinals in the 1928 World Series. Getting a comparison to Gehrig
surely means that this performance was not effortless.
Remaining humble after being named as MVP, Freese said, "I wish we could make eight or nine of these and give them to our bullpen. They're the reason why we won this series.”
It will be interesting to see how Freese performs against the Rangers, given the fact that they are a more composed outfit.
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