| Gene Freese | |
| Position: | Third baseman |
| Birth Date: | 8 January 1934 |
| Birth Place: | Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Metairie, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | April 13 |
| Debutyear: | 1955 |
| Debutteam: | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| Finalleague: | MLB |
| Finaldate: | September 3 |
| Finalyear: | 1966 |
| Finalteam: | Houston Astros |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Stat1label: | Batting average |
| Stat1value: | .254 |
| Stat2label: | Home runs |
| Stat2value: | 115 |
| Stat3label: | Runs batted in |
| Stat3value: | 432 |
| Teams: | |
Eugene Lewis Freese (January 8, 1934 – June 18, 2013), was an American professional baseball third baseman, who was widely noted as a journeyman. Freese played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates (twice), St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox (twice), Cincinnati Reds, and Houston Astros, for 12 seasons (–).[1]
Freese's career batting average stands at .254, in 1,115 games played, with 115 home runs and 432 runs batted in (RBI). During his playing days, he was listed as 5inchesft11inchesin (ftin) tall, weighing 175lb; Freese batted and threw right-handed.[1] He was nicknamed "Augie", as a Pirate rookie, in, by teammates, (named) after umpire Augie Donatelli, who was calling balls and strikes in Freese's first big league game.
Freese was a native of Wheeling, West Virginia. He signed with the Pirates in 1953 and played for 17 seasons in professional baseball.
Freese was a member of the National League (NL) champion Reds. Acquired in an off-season interleague deal with the White Sox, he reached career highs in home runs (26), RBI (87) and games played (152 – 151 of which were at third base), as Cincinnati won its first pennant since .[1] In the 1961 World Series, won by the New York Yankees in five games, Freese batted only .063 (1-for-16) and was the victim of one of two spectacular defensive plays by his third-base counterpart, Clete Boyer, in the Series opener.
The following year, Freese broke an ankle during a spring training intrasquad game[2] and missed almost the entire season. He never regained his 1961 form, although he stayed in MLB through 1966. Freese's 877 major league hits included 161 doubles, 28 triples and 115 home runs.[1] He led NL third basemen in errors in and .
Freese died on June 18, 2013, in Metairie, Louisiana.[3] His older brother, George, briefly played Major League Baseball and was a longtime scout and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) manager.