https://www.detroitnews.com/st...-dies-79/8192888002/
Stats: https://www.baseball-reference...rs/f/freehbi01.shtml
Bill Freehan recently passed away. Some of you may know of him and others not. He was a Detroit Tigers catcher for 15 years....great defensive backstop. He is not in the MLB Hall of Fame (HOF), which is probably why the media is not writing about this more. But Freehan is in my Hall of Very, Very Good (HOVVG 
) especially to a 7 year old kid who just got a autographed Bill Freehan catchers mitt for his birthday. Freehan was my idol at a young age when my parents made the decision to leave New England for Toledo. Not Toledo, Spain. Yes, that Toledo, and I've not forgiven them for their lack of judgement on this family move as well as a few others. I was temporarily a Detroit Tigers fan, and went to many Tigers and MudHens games. Anyway, I became obsessed with baseball and catching in particular at a young age. For a couple years I watched Freehan's every move behind the plate and tried to do all the things he was doing in Little League games and practices. I loved blocking pitches and throwing runners out....I lived for it and Freehan showed me the way. When he passed away the other day, all of these childhood memories came rushing to mind. RIP Bill Freehan and thanks for the memories.
