'What a loser': Blue Jays SickKids fans chirp Freddie Freeman in hilarious fundraising video

Freddie Freeman may be proud of his Canadian roots and keen to display them when playing in the World Baseball Classic but was his participation in a celebrity production for a terrific Toronto charity a little too soon?

In a hilarious, all-in-good-fun video created and produced by Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, the Los Angeles Dodgers all-star first baseman is roundly jeered by a handful of Canadian children who are part of Toronto SickKids patient ambassadors program.

Freeman was Reynolds’ celebrity guest in his annual Ugly Christmas Sweater video, which supports the Toronto SickKids Foundation, a key fundraiser for the hospital over the holiday season.

In the video, Freeman receives some mock grief from a handful of SickKids patients as he enters a hospital room.

“What a loser,” the first one says.

“Trust me man, we know who you are,” says another when Freeman introduces himself.

“You really got some nerve coming here,” is the next chirp from one of the children, playing along to perfection.

And then the big one: “Go back to your sunshine and traffic, you hoser.”

All in good spirit though and a thrilling trip for the kids to participate in the annual fundraising activity by Reynolds, who taps into his celebrity contacts to help support the terrific cause.

For the latest production, a selection of SickKids patient ambassadors and a nurse flew to Los Angeles to film the piece with Freeman and Reynold’s production company, Maximum Effort.

Freeman playing along

Despite wearing Blue Jays gear and poking fun at Freeman, the families on set all raved about how generous the Dodgers star was with his time and how special he made the young generation of Jays fans feel.

Though he plays for the Dodgers, who defeated the Jays in that heartbreaking seven-game World Series, Freeman has long been popular with Canadian baseball fans. Eligible to play for Canada at the World Baseball Classic because he’s a dual citizen (his parents are from Canada and he was born in the U.S.), Freeman wore the Maple Leaf in the 2017 and 2023 editions of the tournament and is expected to be part of manager Ernie Whitt’s roster in next year’s renewal.

“I’m not so sure the Canadian fans, Blue Jays fans, will be cheering for me this time around like it was in the WBC the last couple times,” Freeman said prior to the World Series getting under way in October. But it is special, both my parents are born and raised in Canada. My mom from the Toronto area, dad from Windsor, so it is special.

“You know every time I go there, you just have this feeling inside that you feel just a little bit closer to my mom (who died when Freeman was a youngster.) Every time I go there I always get this little envelope in my locker and it’s always like pictures of a third cousin that has found photos in their garage and they bring them to me. I love going back to Toronto.”

So in that sense, Freeman was an easy sell for Reynolds, whose commitment to SickKids fundraising has been a grand slam.

SickKids fundraising campaign

The festive video effort by Reynolds is now it its seventh year and have been a key part of the SickKids fundraising campaign ahead of the holidays. Not only is it a hit with the participating kids, it’s meant to inspire further donations from the public.

The latest offering should be a hit with sports fans, even those still feeling the pain Freeman’s Dodgers inflicted on the Jays massive following.

“By the way, I love what you guys are doing here,” Freeman says in an effort to win the kids — who were clearly having a blast. That prompted a raucous ‘Let’s Go Blue Jays’ chant and one final zinger:

“Do you even lift, ‘bro?,” one of the kids chirps.

Freddie Freeman: World Series champ (for the third time) and all-around good sport.