Never before Freddie Freeman, crowned Wednesday evening, had a player of Canadian citizenship won the title of MVP of the Baseball World Series.
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Over the years, the honor awarded since 1955 had rewarded fifty-eight Americans, five Dominicans, two Cubans, two Venezuelans, a Puerto Rican, a Panamanian, a Japanese, a Colombian, but never an athlete with such obvious Canadian roots. .
The Dodgers’ Freeman was born in California, but he feels Canadian enough to have represented the home country of his parents, Fredrik and Rosemary, at the World Baseball Classic, first in 2017 and most recently in 2023. saw a way to honor his late mother, a native of Peterborough, Ontario, who died after a long battle with cancer when Freeman was just 10 years old.
A grand slam dedicated to his father
This time, during these World Series, it was towards his father, Fred, that the player with dual nationality turned after hitting his grand slam, in the 10th inning, to give the Dodgers victory in the first match, in Los Angeles. In a touching scene, he wanted to go see his dad, in the stands, to share his joy.
Freddie Freeman, author of a grand slam in the 10th inning, during the first game of the World Series played on October 25 at Dodger Stadium.
“My dad has been there since I was a little boy, throwing me into batting practice every day,” he commented in the interview given directly on the field after that first Dodgers triumph. It wasn’t my moment, it was his.
Freeman has never hidden it: baseball was a real escape in his youth after the death of his mother. And he owes his major league swing to his father, also born in Canada.
Four home runs and 12 RBIs
If Freeman’s famous grand slam will go down in history, it should be remembered that the Dodgers player also hit a home run in each of the next three games, completing the World Series with 12 RBIs in just 5 games.
His exploits are all the more commendable since the first baseman had been suffering from an ankle injury since the end of September.
“I did a lot of work between the National Championship Series and the World Series,” Freeman admitted, quoted on the Major League Baseball website, about his preparation for this fragile ankle.
Freddie Freeman celebrates with the World Series Champions Trophy.
To complete the family portrait, Freeman absolutely wanted to play for his sons, Charlie, Brandon and Maximus. The youngest, aged 3, was also diagnosed last year with Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disease usually causing muscle weakness. Freeman will never compare his son’s situation to baseball, but he admitted that the conclusion of this World Series, as well as the fact that his son is doing better now, is a “little extra” than his family, including his wife Chelsea, welcome with open arms.
World Series MVP with non-US citizenship:
1971 – Roberto Clemente (Pittsburgh Pirates) – Puerto Rico
1981 – Pedro Guerrero (Los Angeles Dodgers) – Dominican Republic
1990 – José Rijo (Cincinnati Reds) – Dominican Republic
1997 – Livan Hernández (Floride Marlins) – Cuba
1999 – Mariano Rivera (New York Yankees) – Panama
2004 – Manny Ramirez (Boston Red Sox) – Dominican Republic
2009 – Hideki Matsui (Yankees de New York) – Japon
2010 – Edgar Renteria (St. Louis Cardinals) – Colombia
2012 – Pablo Sandoval (San Francisco Giants) – Venezuela
2013 – David Ortiz (Boston Red Sox) – Dominican Republic
2015 – Salvador Pérez (Kansas City Royals) – Venezuela
2021 – Jorge Soler (Braves d’Atlanta) – Cuba
2022 – Jeremy Pena (Houston Astros) – Dominican Republic
2024 – Freddie Freeman (Los Angeles Dodgers) – United States/Canada
In the notebook
- Freddie Freeman always preferred baseball to hockey, but due to his parents’ Canadian origins, he sometimes attended NHL games in California during his childhood. “If we went to see a hockey game, it was when the Maple Leafs visited the Ducks,” he confided to the Journal, during coverage of the last World Baseball Classic, in Arizona.
- Although he is the most Canadian athlete to win the World Series MVP award, Freddie Freeman became only the 12th to add the honor to regular season MVP, an award he earned in 2020 with the Atlanta Braves. Others who achieved such a double: Johnny Bench, Roberto Clemente, Rollie Fingers, Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson, Sandy Koufax, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt and Willie Stargell. All the legends!
- Unusual fact: For the fifth consecutive time, a player named Will Smith won major league baseball honors following the Dodgers’ triumph Wednesday night. Catcher Will Smith also won the World Series in 2020. Left-handed pitcher Will Smith, the other player with that name in MLB, won the championship three times in a row with the Atlanta Braves (2021), Astros Houston (2022). and the Texas Rangers (2023).
Will Smith crossed the plate on a hit by Freddie Freeman on Wednesday in Game 5 of the World Series.
