ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - David Freese wouldn't announce his retirement from baseball until after the 2019 season, which he played with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But last night in his return to St. Louis, he revealed that there was one player he confessed his coming seclusion to during a game that season...
Current St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado.
Freese, the 2011 World Series hero and St. Louis native, was back at Busch Stadium to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Tuesday's game. He was asked about what it's like watching Arenado play his old position in his old ballpark now.
"Same old Nolan. Different jersey," Freese says. "Man, I love watching him."
Then, Freese instantly thought back to a game in September of 2019 when the Dodgers hosted Arenado's Colorado Rockies.
"Towards the end of the game I told him that I was retiring," Freese says. "I just appreciated watching him kinda from afar for so long. He was about the only guy I said that to. He was the only guy I wanted to get out there and just say I love watching him play and stuff. He's just a flat-out good player and you can learn a lot from watching him."
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It may have been a moment that stuck with Arenado through this past offseason. Because when he was introduced to St. Louis he mentioned Freese in his first press conference.
"I plan on being here for a long time and I want to bring back the joys of David Freese and those moments," Arenado said in February after being acquired by St. Louis.
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