TORONTO — Freddie Freeman ignored the first call from the unknown number.
Then four text messages in a row came from someone claiming to be Ryan Reynolds, the Canadian-American actor.
“I don’t know if I believe this,” Freeman recounted Wednesday on the Rogers Centre field before the Dodgers’ series finale against the Blue Jays. “So I did a little digging.”
Through backchannels, he confirmed it was indeed Reynolds reaching out. So they set up a call, and Reynolds pitched Freeman on participating in the annual holiday video for SickKids Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Toronto children’s hospital.
Spoiler alert: Freeman agreed, and it went viral.
“It was special,” Freeman said. “Got to meet [a few of the kids], know their stories, and then obviously, hopefully raise a lot of funds.”
Freeman was the perfect candidate. The son of two Canadians, the Dodgers first baseman has represented the country playing for the national team. And he’s long supported children’s healthcare.
Though Freeman was a healthy child, he spent a lot of time in the hospital with his mom, Rosemary, who died from melanoma when he was 10 years old.
While playing for the Braves, Freeman got involved with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, hosting an annual “Freddie and Friends” fundraising lunch. And in recent years, his connection to children’s healthcare has become even more personal. In 2024, Freeman’s son, Maximus, then 3, was hospitalized with a severe case of a rare neurological condition called Guillain-Barré syndrome.
“Watching my mom go through her things, and living in hospitals, and having Max get sick, and knowing how important hospitals are for kids, and for people that work there — it’s not just the doctors, but there’s so many different other teams inside of a hospital that are working,” Freeman said. “So when you can help raise funds in a kind of a fun way, I jumped at it.”
The Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman looks on with his wife, Chelsea, and sons before a game against the Braves on April 18, 2022.
(Brian Rothmuller / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
It came together around Thanksgiving, just weeks removed from the Dodgers’ World Series win over the Blue Jays in a back-and-forth Game 7 in Toronto. So, of course, the video would play off of that.
“Ryan is so hilarious and fun,” Freeman said. “We had a great time. And it came out really good.”
The video opens with an introduction from Reynolds, who says that so many Canadians had offered to co-star in the annual video that there was a wait list. And it just so happened that this year, it was Freeman’s turn.
Cut to a hospital set, with a healthcare provider and three kids, one wearing a Blue Jays hat and another a team sweatshirt. In walks Freeman, to a chilling reception.
The kids pummel Freeman with insults and boos. And he even dodges what appears to be a teddy bear, before giving them a dejected nod and walking out.
Reynolds reappears.
“I asked him in March,” he says. “What are the odds?”
Of course, that’s not exactly how it happened.
The whole thing was shot in Southern California, Freeman said. The kids got a break from the Toronto winter, and were flown out with their families for filming. Freeman got to meet their parents.
“Those kids were actually the real kids in the hospital, and were doing better, and that’s what made it so fun,” Freeman said.
They were real Blue Jays fans. One of the kids had his prosthetic eye customized with the team logo. But they were also Canadian.
“They were always saying sorry after they said something mean to me,” Freeman said with a laugh.
The digs that made the final cut included: “You suck,” “You ruined everything,” and “Go back to your sunshine and traffic, you hoser.”
They were far more biting than the reception Freeman got at the Rogers Centre this week. Sure, the Dodgers got booed. But Freeman said on deck, he heard fans telling him to come home.
“Canada, everyone knows it’s very special to me,” Freeman said. “Every time I come here, I feel a little closer to my mom.”
She used to work in downtown Toronto, not far from the Rogers Centre. His dad would come meet her as she got off work. For Freeman, it’s a city of stories and memories.
Even in Game 1 of the World Series, Canadian fans cheered for him.
“I love it,” Freeman said of returning to Toronto. “Canadians are too nice. I don’t think they can be actually mean.”
That only happens in children’s hospital fundraising videos.