David Roth, over at Defector, wrote a couple of paragraphs about David Freese.

It is tempting, and not entirely incorrect, to sum up David Freese’s decision not to accept induction into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame as “some extremely Cardinals shit.” Freese, a St. Louis native who made one All-Star team with the club and had a supernaturally great postseason in 2011 to lead the team to its 11th World Series win, did not otherwise have the sort of career that would ordinarily warrant inclusion in a team’s Hall of Fame. His statement declining induction acknowledges that. “I look at who I was during my tenure, and that weighs heavily on me,” Freese wrote in declining the honor. “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.”

There’s more going on here than a Cardinals player and Cardinals fans having a Reverence For The Cardinals-off, to be fair. By his own account, Freese was an intensely depressed and self-destructive alcoholic during his time with the Cardinals, and the “who I was during my tenure” part of the statement likely refers to that; a 2017 USA Today feature mentions that Freese hadn’t looked at or worn his World Series ring in five years, and that the World Series MVP he earned was still in its box in the basement of his parents’ home. “You win the World Series in your hometown, and you become this guy in a city that loves Cardinal baseball,” Freese said in that story. “And sometimes it’s the last guy you want to be.”

I’m glad Roth did not rake Freese over the coals with his analysis. He clearly sees what’s going on and I’m actually a bit grateful for his research into the real reasons.

Not sure I understand his title, but whatever.