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Ryan Freel
Ryan Paul Freel (March 8, 1976 – December 22, 2012) was an American professional baseball player. A utility player, Freel played second base, third base, and all three outfield positions in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays between 2001 and 2009.
On December 22, 2012, Freel committed suicide, and was subsequently the first MLB player to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Freel attended Tallahassee Community College and was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1994 amateur entry draft, but did not sign. A year later, he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 10th round of the 1995 amateur draft. From 1998 to 2002, Freel played in the Venezuelan Baseball League with Cardenales de Lara, becoming Champions in 2001. Freel played 6 seasons in the Toronto minor league system before making his Major League debut on April 4, 2001. He only played in 9 games for the Blue Jays in his rookie year, hitting .273 with 0 home runs, 3 RBI and 2 stolen bases. After the season was over, Freel was granted free agency and signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Freel played the entire 2002 season in the minor leagues with the Durham Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Devil Rays. He hit .261 with 8 home runs, 48 RBI, and 37 steals. On November 18, 2002, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent.
On July 27, 2005, Freel stole five bases in one game, becoming the first MLB player to do so since the 2000 season.
In five seasons with the Reds, Freel hit .270 with 22 home runs, 104 runs batted in, and 134 stolen bases. His best season for the Reds was in 2004, when he hit .277 with 3 home runs, 28 RBI, 37 stolen bases, and 74 runs scored in 143 games. In 2007, Freel signed a two-year, $3 million contract extension with the Reds.
On December 9, 2008, Freel was traded along with two minor leaguers including Justin Turner to the Baltimore Orioles for catcher Ramón Hernández. On May 8, 2009, Freel was traded once again, this time to the Chicago Cubs for outfielder Joey Gathright and cash considerations. On July 2, 2009, Freel was designated for assignment to create roster space for the newly acquired Jeff Baker. On July 6, 2009, Freel was dealt accompanied by cash considerations to the Kansas City Royals for a player to be named later.
On August 5, 2009, Freel was designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals. He was released on August 13, 2009. On August 28, 2009, Freel signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. He was released 2 days later. In April 2010, Freel signed with the independent Somerset Patriots, but retired five weeks later on May 17, 2010.
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Ryan Freel
Ryan Paul Freel (March 8, 1976 – December 22, 2012) was an American professional baseball player. A utility player, Freel played second base, third base, and all three outfield positions in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays between 2001 and 2009.
On December 22, 2012, Freel committed suicide, and was subsequently the first MLB player to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Freel attended Tallahassee Community College and was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1994 amateur entry draft, but did not sign. A year later, he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 10th round of the 1995 amateur draft. From 1998 to 2002, Freel played in the Venezuelan Baseball League with Cardenales de Lara, becoming Champions in 2001. Freel played 6 seasons in the Toronto minor league system before making his Major League debut on April 4, 2001. He only played in 9 games for the Blue Jays in his rookie year, hitting .273 with 0 home runs, 3 RBI and 2 stolen bases. After the season was over, Freel was granted free agency and signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Freel played the entire 2002 season in the minor leagues with the Durham Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Devil Rays. He hit .261 with 8 home runs, 48 RBI, and 37 steals. On November 18, 2002, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent.
On July 27, 2005, Freel stole five bases in one game, becoming the first MLB player to do so since the 2000 season.
In five seasons with the Reds, Freel hit .270 with 22 home runs, 104 runs batted in, and 134 stolen bases. His best season for the Reds was in 2004, when he hit .277 with 3 home runs, 28 RBI, 37 stolen bases, and 74 runs scored in 143 games. In 2007, Freel signed a two-year, $3 million contract extension with the Reds.
On December 9, 2008, Freel was traded along with two minor leaguers including Justin Turner to the Baltimore Orioles for catcher Ramón Hernández. On May 8, 2009, Freel was traded once again, this time to the Chicago Cubs for outfielder Joey Gathright and cash considerations. On July 2, 2009, Freel was designated for assignment to create roster space for the newly acquired Jeff Baker. On July 6, 2009, Freel was dealt accompanied by cash considerations to the Kansas City Royals for a player to be named later.
On August 5, 2009, Freel was designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals. He was released on August 13, 2009. On August 28, 2009, Freel signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. He was released 2 days later. In April 2010, Freel signed with the independent Somerset Patriots, but retired five weeks later on May 17, 2010.