Freddie Freeman will play for Canada in the WBC for a very heartfelt reason
With the World Baseball Classic rosters released yesterday, we officially get to see which major leaguers will participate, and which countries they’ll suit up for when the games start on March 6. For some players, their reasons for playing for a certain country are relatively straightforward. New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorious was born in the Netherlands, so he’s playing for the Netherlands. Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera was born in Venezuela, so that’s who he’s playing for.
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But not every player’s reasons are as simple. Freddie Freeman, first baseman for the Atlanta Braves, is playing for Canada’s team in the WBC, even though he was born and raised in California. On Wednesday he took to Twitter to share the emotional reason he’s going to represent for Canada in next month’s tournament.
Can not be more excited to represent Canada at the WBC next month! ????????Here is a just a brief background of my parents. pic.twitter.com/vpkH1UtUfu
— Freddie Freeman (@FreddieFreeman5) February 9, 2017
Here’s the text of his story:
“Both my parents were born in Canada. My mother in Toronto and my father in Windsor. My dad moved to California when he was 12 because my grandfather got transferred there for his job. They were there three years and my grandfather got transferred back to Windsor. My dad was in Windsor for 15 months before my grandfather got transferred back to California permanently. I’m thankful for those 15 months before my grandfather got transferred back to California permanently. I’m thankful for those 15 months because that’s when my dad met my mother. Long story short, my parents got married in Oshawa a few years later and made their home in California. My mother passed away when I was 10 years old of melanoma skin cancer. It is going to be a very emotional day for me when I put on that Canada uniform come March 9th. I carry my mother with me everyday and I can’t wait to represent her by playing in her honor. Thank you team Canada for letting me play to honor her and my family!!”
That’s incredibly touching. Freeman is playing for Canada, the country where his parents were born and where they met, to honor his mother, and to honor the role Canada has played in his life (since his parents were born there, he has dual citizenship). It’s hard to think of a better reason for Freeman to play for Canada.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher
