Back at AA Shreveport that August, Freeland contemplated his future to The Shreveport Times. And his future, he still believed then, lie in the majors.
"I still think I can pitch in the majors," Freeland told The Times. "The thought of walking away doesn't cross my mind. It can't. If it does, I might as well give it up now. I can't get the job done that way."
Freeland pitched that year in his sixth professional season. He went on to play in two more. He returned to AAA, but he never made the majors.
Freeland's career began in 1984, signed by the Brewers out of Kettle Moraine High in Wisconsin.
Freeland started with the Brewers at rookie Paintsville. He went 5-2 over 10 outings, with a 2.04 ERA.
He moved to Rookie Helena and single-A Beloit for 1985. He ended that year with a 4.98 ERA.
The Giants picked Freeland up for 1986 and assigned him to single-A Clinton and AA Shreveport. He went 7-7, with a 2.85 ERA at Clinton and 1-2, with a 3.78 ERA over seven starts at Shreveport.
Freeland returned to Shreveport for all of 1987 and went 12-9 on the year, with a 3.27 mark. That April, he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Arkansas.
Freeland played at Shreveport again for 1988. He went 11-11, with a 3.38 ERA. He threw a five-hitter in a June game that saw Giants owner Bob Lurie and Giants president and GM Al Rosen, The Times wrote.
"They put me on the (winter) roster," Freeland told The Times when asked if he thought he'd impressed the brass, "and I should be pitching more like this than I have been."
Freeland played another year at Shreveport in 1989 - and got his three-game look at AAA Phoenix. He then moved back to the Brewers system and AA El Paso for 1990.
That July, Freeland threw a two-hit shutout against his old club Shreveport.
"It was my best outing of the year," Freeland told The El Paso Times afterward. "Tonight I was hitting my spots better than I have at any time in my career. That's why I threw so well."
Freeland started 1991 back at El Paso. He then moved to the Astros, where he saw a game at AA Jackson, then 22 at AAA Tucson. He went 1-3 at Tucson over those 22 relief outings and recorded a 6.42 ERA to end his career.
- Shreveport Times, June 28, 1988: Freeland tops Travelers on five-hitter
- Shreveport Times, Aug. 3, 1989: Sitting and watching not easy for Captains' Freeland
- El Paso Times, July 30, 1990: Diablos remain on hot streak as pitcher beats ex-teammates
Players/Coaches Featured:3,034
Made the Majors:1,116-36.8%
Never Made Majors:1,918-63.2%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 466
10+ Seasons in the Minors:276
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