Samuel Douglas Freeman (born June 24, 1987) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who is currently a free agent. He previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

, Texas Rangers,

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

, and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Early life

Freeman started playing baseball at the age of four in the Carrollton Little League in

Carrollton, Texas Carrollton is a city in Dallas, Denton, and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 133,434, making it the 23rd-most populous city in Texas. History The area was first settled by Jared Ford i ...

. When he was 12 years old his team won the Carrollton Pony League Championship. Freeman's pitching career started his freshman year of high school, one year before making the varsity team at Hebron High School. He also played football at Hebron his freshman year.

College career

After graduating, Freeman was recruited to play for

North Central Texas College North Central Texas College (NCTC) is a public community college in Gainesville, Texas. It serves Cooke County, Denton County, and Montague County, Texas. History As with many of the early community colleges, NCTC began as an extension of th ...

(NCTC) where he played for 2 years. Then, Freeman signed with the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

Career

St. Louis Cardinals

After his sophomore year of college, Freeman was selected by the

in the 24th round of the

2007 Major League Baseball Draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the f ...

. He didn't sign and went on to Kansas for his junior year. After his junior year, he was redrafted by the Cardinals in the 32nd round in the

2008 Major League Baseball Draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

. With the Cardinals, he rose from the Rookie League to AA in three years. He was 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in AAA with the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

.Samuel Freeman
Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 2, 2011. and was later signed to the Cardinals 40-man roster. Freeman sustained an injury to his elbow requiring

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

, which took him out of the 2010 season. Cardinalsfreeman2013

Freeman made his major league debut during

Johan Santana Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 200 ...

's (

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

) no-hitter in New York on June 1, 2012. He appeared in 22 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012, posting a record of 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA. Following the regular season he was sent by the Cardinals to play in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

. After appearing in just 13 games in 2013, Freeman pitched in 44 games in 2014 with an ERA of 2.61 in 38 innings.

Texas Rangers

On March 28, 2015, the Texas Rangers acquired Freeman from the Cardinals for a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

. He was designated for assignment on April 5, and outrighted on April 15. He was brought back up a few weeks later, finishing the season with 54 appearances for the Rangers.

Milwaukee Brewers

Freeman was acquired by the

on April 5, 2016. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on May 2, 2016, when the team recalled

Junior Guerra Junior José Guerra Maurera (born January 16, 1985) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, Milwauke ...

. With the Brewers, he allowed 11 earned runs for a 12.91 ERA in seven appearances.

Atlanta Braves

On October 21, 2016, Freeman signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the

. The Braves promoted him to the majors on May 4, 2017. For the season, he appeared in 58 games, going 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA. Freeman and the Braves agreed to a one-year contract worth $1.075 million on January 11, 2018. He struggled with inconsistency throughout the 2018 season due to a lack of command, a problem that had been noted by several coaches over the course of his career. In late July, Freeman was placed on the disabled list, and returned to the active roster on August 19. On March 22, 2019, Freeman was unconditionally released from the

Los Angeles Angels

On March 27, 2019, Freeman signed a minor league deal with the

. Freeman had his contract selected on April 23, 2019. He was designated for assignment on April 24 following the promotion of Matt Ramsey. He was outrighted on April 29. Freeman was released on August 19, 2019.

Washington Nationals

On August 21, 2019, Freeman signed a minor league deal with the

. He became a free agent following the 2019 season. On February 12, 2020, Freeman re-signed with the Nationals on a minor league deal. On July 23, 2020, Freeman had his contract selected to the 40-man roster. In August/September 2020, Freeman underwent

. Freeman was outrighted off of the roster on October 12, 2020, and subsequently elected free agency.

Kansas City Royals

On December 27, 2021, Freeman signed a minor league contract with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. On August 24, he was released. He was released on August 24, 2022.

Awards

The Cardinal Nation/Scout.com Springfield Relief Pitcher of the Year: 2011

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

All-Star: 2011

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

All-Star: 2009 Scout.com Johnson City Reliever of the Year: 2008 Brian Walton
"Sam Freeman Profile"
'Scout.com'', August 2, 2012

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Samuel 1987 births Living people African-American baseball players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Houston Bravos de Margarita players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Fresno Grizzlies players Gwinnett Braves players Johnson City Cardinals players Kansas Jayhawks baseball players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Redbirds players Milwaukee Brewers players NCTC Lions baseball players Palm Beach Cardinals players Round Rock Express players Salt Lake Bees players Springfield Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals players Surprise Saguaros players Texas Rangers players Washington Nationals players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people Wisconsin Woodchucks players