Los Angeles Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman was removed from Team Canada’s World Baseball Classic game against Colombia on Tuesday due to a reported right hamstring injury.
Freeman flied out in third inning and jogged gingerly to first base but initially remained in the game. He was seen on the broadcast stretching and grabbing at his right hamstring while playing the field but came out at the start of the bottom of the fourth inning.
Additional details of Freeman’s injury have not been provided as of publishing. Team Canada is scheduled to face Mexico on Wednesday at Chase Field.
Freeman was participating in the WBC for the second time in his career and has expressed a desire to do so in future iterations as well.
“Six years ago we went 0-3, so I would like that to be different this time,” Freeman said before the 2023 World Baseball Classic began. “There’s some guys that opted out and we’re going to be young, but I think we’ve still got a good chance. I really just want to make it tough on the USA.
“It’s going to be good. I’m looking forward to it. I never played winter ball, and in 2017, our first game was against the Dominican. Wow, that was fun. It was 30,000 people in Miami, bells going off. We got beat kind of good, but it was fun. It was an atmosphere you obviously don’t get in Spring Training. It’s a good mix up for us.
“You’re just a little nervous with the ramp-up. Because in Spring Training, you go three innings, four innings, 50 to 55 pitches to get your work done. Maybe you only go 40 (pitches) and throw 20 more in the bullpen. It’s a little bit different for starters. As long as everyone has fun and stays healthy, that’s all we can really ask for. Hopefully it’s a good tournament.”
Freeman and the Canadians lost to the United States on Monday night in a game that ended after seven innings due to the WBC mercy rule.
Why is Freddie Freeman playing for Team Canada?
Although an American citizen, Freeman feels a close bond to Canada and plays for the country as a way of honoring his parents, and in particular his late mother. Rosemary Joy Freeman was born in Toronto and passed away because of melanoma in 2000.
“Most people just know about my mom, but my dad is Canadian too,” Freeman explained. “He was born in Windsor, Ontario; my mom was born in Toronto, and she passed when I was 10. So I play for Team Canada to honor her and her memory.”
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