Freese, 2011 World Series MVP, retires

LOS ANGELES — David Freese retired Saturday after an 11-year career in the majors in which he shone brightest in the postseason, winning a World Series title with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 when he was MVP.

The 36-year-old infielder made the announcement on Twitter. He was a career .277 hitter and even better in the postseason, with a .299 average.

Freese made his final appearance Wednesday in a deciding Game 5 of an NL Division Series, striking out as a pinch-hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They lost 7-3 to the Washington Nationals. Freese had started Game 1 at first base.

He made his major league debut with St. Louis in 2009 and became a postseason star two years later. Freese batted .545 with 12 hits in the NL Championship Series in 2011. He also set an MLB postseason record with 21 RBIs and earned MVP honors in the NLCS and World Series.

Freese was an All-Star in 2012, when he played in a careerhigh 144 games after injuries had dogged him in previous years. In Game 1 of the NLCS against San Francisco, he hit a two-run homer off Madison Bumgarner.

In his first 25 postseason games, Freese batted .386 with six homers, 25 RBIs and a .739 slugging percentage in 100 plate appearances. Only Carlos Beltrán (.824) and Babe Ruth (.744) had higher slugging percentages in the same number of plate appearances.

But Freese slumped after that, batting just .192 for the series, won by the Giants in seven games.