Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman has a complicated relationship with the city of Toronto and Canada as a whole.
The three-time World Series champion was born in Southern California, but his parents were born in Ontario, meaning Freeman holds dual Canadian and American citizenship. Freeman joined the Canadian National Team during the 2017 World Baseball Classic, representing them again in 2023.
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However, after Freeman’s Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series this season, his relationship with the country has soured a bit — as seen in a hilarious and heartwarming video the nine-time All-Star made in support of Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto.
Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds called upon Freeman to visit kids at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children for his annual fundraising video. In the video, Freeman enters a room full of children, only to be booed out by the Blue Jays faithful.
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“Go back to your sunshine and traffic, you loser,” one of the children yelled at Freeman.
The video ends with Freeman being booed out of the room to a chorus of “Let’s go Blue Jays” chants from the kids.
The SickKids Foundation was started with the goal of fighting for the health and well-being of children. Their mission is to inspire communities to invest in health and scientific advances to improve the lives of children and their families in Canada and across the world, according to the foundation’s website.
Reynolds, who has helped fundraise for the SickKids Foundation since 2019, is matching donations up to $1 million by Dec. 24. Visit SickKidsSweaterLove.ca to donate. The Hospital for Sick Children’s origins date all the way back to 1875, when almost half of the recorded deaths in Toronto were those of children under 10 years old. The SickKids Foundation was started in 1972, and has been the largest charitable funder of child health research in Canada since its inception.
Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
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