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MLB Playoffs: The Biggest Heroes of the Last 20 Years

By Brad Rowland

New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter (2) acknowledges the crowd after being taken out of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/NJ Advance Media for NJ.com via USA TODAY Sports
New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter (2) acknowledges the crowd after being taken out of the game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/NJ Advance Media for NJ.com via USA TODAY Sports /
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St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese (23) reacts after scoring a run in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game two of the National League Championship Series baseball game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese (23) reacts after scoring a run in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game two of the National League Championship Series baseball game at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports /

David Freese

To be honest, David Freese is a thoroughly forgettable player. His career numbers (.280/.348/.417 slash line with 54 home runs in 600 games) are just fine, but without his playoff success, the former Cardinals and current Angels third baseman would simply be “just another guy”. However, his playoff legend lives on.

Freese gets the nod for this list based on his performance throughout the 2011 playoffs, as he captured both NLCS and World Series MVP honors in helping to lead St. Louis to a World Series win. After a relatively quiet NLDS performance in which he went just 5-for-18, Freese utterly exploded for the remainder of the playoff run. Freese went 12-for-22 with 3 home runs and a 1.691 OPS during a 6-game NLCS win over the Milwaukee Brewers, and he was nearly as absurd in the Fall Classic.

The now 31-year-old third baseman finished the World Series at 8-for-23 with a single home run, but that blast was of the walk-off variety in Game 6 with St. Louis trailing 3-2 in the series, and Freese also produced a 2-run triple to tie the game in the 9th inning with the Cardinals facing almost certain elimination. In total, David Freese is a very good postseason hitter (.874 OPS, 8 HR in 196 plate appearances), but for a couple of weeks in 2011, he was the very definition of a hero.

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