OFF THE WALL

Freese declines Cardinals Hall of Fame induction

After months of wrestling with his decision and comparing the view he had of his career with the Cardinals against the careers of peers and players he considers the organization’s all-time greats, David Freese notified the team that he would decline induction into the Cardinals Hall of Fame, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-dispatch.

Freese first notified the team of his feeling this past week, and the Cardinals officially announced his decision Saturday.

“I look at who I was during my tenure, and that weighs heavily on me,” Freese said in a team release. “The Cardinals and the entire city have always had my back in every way. I’m forever grateful to be part of such an amazing organization and fan base then, now and in the future. I’m especially sorry to the fans that took the time to cast their votes. Cardinal Nation is basically the reason why I’ve unfortunately waited so long for this decision and made it more of a headache for so many people. I feel strongly about my decision and understand how people might feel about this.”

Freese won the 2011 National League Championship Series MVP and the World Series MVP, and he set club and major league postseason records for total bases and RBIS during the title run. There will be no fan-vote member of the 2023 hall class.

Jose Oquendo, the owners’ choice for induction, and Max Lanier, the Red Ribbon Committee’s selection, will be the Class of 2023.

When his name appeared on the ballot as a candidate for induction, Freese began thinking about what the honor would mean and the others who have received it, including teammates Matt Holliday and Chris Carpenter. Both of them were part of the 2011 World Series team.

Trivia question

On this date in 1975, Boston Red Sox rookie Fred Lynn drove in 10 runs in one game in a 15-1 victory over Detroit. But that’s not the RBI record. Two men share the record of 12. The first to do it was St. Louis’ Jim Bottomly in 1924. Who is the only player to do it since?

They said it

From Cubs announcer Jim Deshaies, after a throw from Chicago first baseman Trey Mancini hit Orioles baserunner Ryan O’hearn square in the back between the 3 and 2 on his jersey: “Quarterback rating is good.”

From Tigers announcer and former reliever Todd Jones: “There was a lot of Tiger fans — I can remember when I was pitching — they were saying ‘You’re No. 1,’ but they were using their middle finger. It was weird.”

One more from Jones: “Some fan wrote me a letter and said, ‘Hey I started a website. It’s called tradetoddjones.com.’ I went into it and I ordered two trucker hats. They were selling T-shirts and trucker hats. The T-shirts were kind of expensive, but the the trucker hats were manageable. So I ordered two of them and I still have them in my house.”

Trivia answer

Outfielder Mark Whiten, also of St. Louis, did it in 1993. Despite the big day, Whiten fell one short of 100 RBIS that season. Whiten accomplished the feat on Sept. 7 of that year, hitting four home runs in the process at Cincinnati in a 15-2 victory. The final homer came off the Reds’ Rob Dibble in the ninth inning.