The Cardinals thought so highly of Gene Freese they offered to trade Ken Boyer for him.
Freese, an infielder, hit 14 home runs as a Pirates rookie in 1955 and batted .283 for them in 1957. Boyer was the Cardinals’ third baseman, but general manager Frank Lane coveted Freese.
Lane offered to deal Boyer and pitcher Willard Schmidt to the Pirates for Freese and outfielder Frank Thomas, according to The Sporting News, but “Anheuser-Busch brass is understood to have frowned on the proposed deal.”
Bing Devine replaced Lane as general manager after the 1957 season and Freese appealed to him, too. On June 15, 1958, Devine acquired Freese and utility player Johnny O’Brien from the Pirates for shortstop Dick Schofield and cash.
The Cardinals projected Freese as a player who could back up Don Blasingame at second, Eddie Kasko at short or Boyer at third. In late July 1958, Blasingame was injured and Freese got his first stretch of starts for the Cardinals. After Blasingame returned to the lineup, manager Fred Hutchinson, unhappy with the weak hitting of Kasko and backup Ruben Amaro, installed Freese as the starting shortstop.
Though he lacked range, Freese provided pop. On Aug. 7, 1958, Freese, batting second, was 3-for-5 with a double and three runs scored in the Cardinals’ 12-1 victory over the Giants at St. Louis. Boxscore
Freese also was part of a power performance against the Dodgers at the Coliseum in Los Angeles. On Aug. 17, 1958, Curt Flood and Freese led off the game with back-to-back home runs to left field off Sandy Koufax. It was only the fifth time a National League team opened a game with consecutive homers. Boxscore Freese slugged three home runs in the four-game series.
Impressed, The Sporting News reported, “Since coming to the Redbirds, the 24-year-old Freese has been a life-saver. He’s filled in competently at both second base and shortstop … Neither the ex-Pirate nor the Cards’ high command has any illusions about his defensive talent. He doesn’t pretend to be a premier shortstop, but Hutchinson reluctantly sacrificed defense to get some hitting at the key position.”
Freese hit .257 with six home runs in 62 games for the 1958 Cardinals, but his on-base percentage was a poor .294. He committed eight errors in 28 games at shortstop and four errors in 14 games at second base.
On Sept. 29, a day after the 1958 season ended, the Cardinals traded Freese to the Phillies for infielder Solly Hemus, who became St. Louis’ player-manager, replacing Hutchinson.
Freese became the starting third baseman for the 1959 Phillies, hitting 23 home runs. His best season was 1961. As the everyday third baseman for the NL champion Reds, managed by Hutchinson, Freese posted single-season career highs of 26 home runs and 87 RBI.
Freese, 79, died on June 19, 2013, in New Orleans.
Previously: Power personifies 2011 World Series champion Cardinals
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