Freese receives car but can't find key memento

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The Corvette he won as World Series MVP is waiting at home for David Freese to drive. Provided he can pry the keys from his dad, that is.

It might take a GPS to locate another prize from last October.

Freese already owns the ball he hit for the home run in the 11th inning that won Game 6. He'd love to add the ball from his two-out, two-strike, two-run triple in the bottom of the ninth that saved the Series for the St. Louis Cardinals.

"To me, that hit was more memorable," Freese said this week. "Because of the situation, what it meant."

"It'd be great to have it," he said. "But I don't know where it is. I don't know if anybody knows."

In the commotion that followed Freese's tying triple off Texas closer Neftali Feliz, that ball seems to have disappeared at Busch Stadium. So far, no one has come forward with it. It might be fated to join some of the game's most elusive souvenirs -- the famed home-run balls of Bobby Thomson and Kirk Gibson are missing, too.

Freese hit .397 with five home runs and a record 21 RBIs in the postseason. Pretty nifty, considering he's played only 184 games in the majors over three years.

Freese is off to nice start in spring training, batting .280 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 10 games. He said he's been able to build off his accomplishments that helped rally the Cardinals past Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Texas in the final month.

"Confidence is such a big part of the game. You're happy that you succeeded in that situation," he said. "You learn that the game isn't going to run away from you. You've got to learn to embrace those moments."

Freese's reward was a 2012 Corvette Grand Sport Coupe, presented by Chevrolet to the World Series MVP. A model car was on the infield during the Cardinals' celebration, and a couple of weeks ago he claimed the real thing.

Or rather, his father did.

The car came to a dealership in suburban St. Louis where the Cardinals have ties, customized to Freese's taste. Black on the outside, with red stitching inside.

"Cardinal red," he said. "After all, it's because of the Cardinals that I got my chance."

With his son at spring training, Guy Freese is enjoying the new wheels at home in suburban St. Louis.

"Wearing the tires off that thing, if I know my dad," Freese said.