Alejandro Freire - Lynx Player Profile

Published on May 12, 2005 under International League (IL1)
Ottawa Lynx News Release


While his name may be slightly confusing to pronounce, there is no question as to the talent that Alejandro Freire (FRAY-day) brings to the Ottawa Lynx this season. The 30-year old first baseman/designated hitter simply gets the job done. Slotted into the middle of the Lynx lineup by manager Dave Trembley, Freire has clearly responded in the early going in the 2005 season. The veteran has come up big in the clutch on a number of occasions. "Freire has a lot of big time hits for us so far ... a lot of big 2 out hits," notes Trembley. Through Wednesday, May 11, Freire had posted a .348 batting average, good for fifth overall in the International League. The Caracas, VZ native was also fourth in the IL in slugging percentage (.643), and tied for third with 18 extra-base hits. It did not take long for Freire to arise as a leader of the 2005 Lynx ballclub.

The right-handed slugger, who signed a contract with the Orioles in the offseason, is a proven run producer. Coming into 2005, he had driven in at least 77 runs in a season five separate times. Freire originally signed as a nondrafted free agent with the Houston Astros in 1991. After spending his first four professional seasons in the Astros organization, he was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 1996 Rule 5 Minor League Draft. In 1997 while playing for Class-A Lakeland, Freire enjoyed a breakout season, setting career-highs in batting average (.323), runs scored (85), hits (154), and RBI (92). His outstanding performance earned him a promotion to Double-A Jacksonville, where he continued to put up solid numbers for the next 3 seasons. Freire's career with the Suns was capped off in 2000, when he led the Southern League and set a career-high with 25 home runs and made the Southern League All-Star team.

The Venezualan continued his run with the Tigers Double-A affiliate after they moved to Erie in 2001. That season, he set a career-high in at-bats (501), while hitting .295 with 17 HR and 82 RBI. These numbers earned him a spot on the Eastern League All-Star squad as the designated hitter. Following the 2001 season, Freire was granted free agency and he signed with the San Francisco Giants on February 2, 2002. He split the 2002 season between Double-A Shreveport and Triple-A Fresno. Freire spent the entire 2003 season with the Double-A club (which had been relocated to Norwich) and had a big season, batting .311 and belting 18 HR and 80 RBI.

After playing for Veracruz in the Mexican League last year, Freire makes his Triple-A debut this season with the Ottawa Lynx. Coming into the 2005 season, the 30-year old is a career .290 hitter in the Minor Leagues. His 156 HR and 666 RBI in the minors are the most of any player on the opening day Lynx roster.

Freire has flourished in his first taste of Triple-A baseball, splitting time between first base and DH for the Lynx. The right-handed hitter started his Lynx career with a bang, going 2-for-4 with 2 runs scored on opening day. From April 11th-26th, he hit in 13 consecutive games, marking his longest hit-streak since 1998. It also currently stands as the longest hitting streak by a Lynx player this season. The veteran also had back-to-back 3 RBI games on April 13th and 14th at Indianapolis. Through May 11, Freire was leading the team in most offensive categories, including doubles (10), home runs (7), runs batted in (23), walks (12), and on-base percentage (.411). Lynx fans have seen first hand the offensive abilities of the slugger, as Freire has posted a team-high .364 (16-for-44) batting average at Lynx Stadium.

As the Lynx continue their quest for the Governers' Cup in 2005, they will look to Freire to provide some key hits along the way. The veteran hitter clearly looks to be up to the challenge and should be a solid fixture in the middle of the Lynx lineup all season long. Driving in runs is certainly not new to Freire, and he hopes to knock in some very big ones this year for the Ottawa Lynx.

Career Highlights: 2004- Began the season with the Veracruz Red Eagles of the Mexican League ... Hit his lone home run of the season on 3/18 vs. Oaxaca ... Hit safely in 4 of 5 games (3/24-28), batting .400 (6-for-15) during that span ... Had a season-high 2 RBI on 3/24 vs. Mexico ... Went 2-for-2 with 4 walks on 3/27 vs. Oaxaca ... Went 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored on 4/7 vs. Campeche ... Joined the Zulia Aguilas of the Venezualan Winter League ... In 59 games, he batted .312 (64-for-205), with 8 HR and 35 RBI ... Led the team in Games Played (59), At-bats (205), Runs (38), Hits (64), Doubles (15) and Walks (38) ... 2003- Played the entire season at Double-A Norwich in the Eastern League ... Hit .380 (27-for-71) for the month of April ... Batted safely in 13 of 14 games (4/17-30), posting a .440 (22-for-50) average during that span ... Had a home run and 4 RBI on 4/29 vs. Trenton ... Hit 2 HR and drove in 4 runs on 5/15 vs. Reading ... Drove in a season-high 5 runs on 6/11 vs. Portland ... Posted a season-high 12-game hitting streak (6/24-7/5), while batting .340 (17-for-50) ... Hit .312 (34-for-109) during the month of August ... Set a career-high with 155 hits on the season ... Finished the season strong, hitting safely in his final 6 games ... Was an Eastern League All-Star and was named to the Eastern League postseason All-Star team by Baseball America ... 2002- Began the season with Double-A Shreveport of the Texas League ... Went 4-for-5 with a HR and 2 RBI on 4/13 vs. Wichita ... Had a season-high 4 RBI against Tulsa on 4/14 ... Hit a home run in 5 out of 6 games (4/13-18), while driving in 11 runs ... Was 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored vs. Midland on 4/29 ... Was promoted to Fresno on 6/18 and went 1-for-4 with a run scored in his Triple-A debut ... Hit safely in 12 out of 13 games (6/26-7/11), batting .404 (19-for-47) during that span ... 2001- Spent the entire season at Double-A Erie in the Detroit Tigers organization ... Set career-highs in at-bats (501) and doubles (33) ... Opened the season on a tear, hitting safely in 13 of his first 14 games, posting a .469 (23-for-49) average during that span ... Finished the month of April with a .403 batting average ... Had back-to-back 4 RBI games (5/2-5/3) ... Drove in 4 runs on 5/5, giving him 4 RBI in 3 out of 4 games (had a HR in each of these games) ... Had 5 multi-hit games in a row (8/7-11), and 44 total on the year ... Was an Eastern League All-Star ... 2000- Played the entire year at Double-A Jacksonville of the Southern League ... Had a season-high 4 RBI on 4/8 vs. Carolina ... Went 4-for-5 with a HR and 2 RBI on 4/30 vs. Tennessee ... Had a season-high 10-game hitting streak (6/17-30), while batting .455 (15-for-33) ... Hit .342 (26-for-76) for the month of June ... 1999- Split the season between Class-A Lakeland and Double-A Jacksonville ... Had 2 HR and a season-high 4 RBI on 8/29 vs. Orlando ... 1998- Spent his first full season at Double-A, and notched 16 HR and 78 RBI in 129 games ... 1997- Finished with career-highs in Avg (.323), Runs (85), Home runs (24), RBI (92) and stolen bases (13) with Class-A Lakeland ... His Home run and RBI totals were second in the Florida State League.

Interesting Facts: Name is pronounced "FRAY-day" ... Signed by Andres Reiner & Juan Oliveros.

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International League Stories from May 12, 2005


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