The Los Angeles wildfires destroyed the homes of thousands of families in the area, and ruined decades of memories and personal items in the process. For two young baseball fans, Anthony and Joe, their home burnt down and they also lost baseball memorabilia that they spent years acquiring.
However, MLB stars Mike Trout and Freddie Freeman are trying to help restart Anthony and Joe’s collection. In a partnership with Fanatics, Trout and Freeman surprised the two young boys with several pieces of memorabilia, including a signed bat and an Angels jersey from Trout.
“I heard about your story. What’s happening out there is heartbreaking,” Trout said in a video that was shown to Anthony and Joe. “I just want to send you something from my collection as I’m a collector myself. Thanks for being a big fan.”
Freeman also gifted the young fans a jersey from the 2024 season in which he helped lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a World Series title and was even named World Series MVP.
“I’m really sorry to hear about your memorabilia collection,” Freeman said in a separate video. “But my jersey can be the start of a new collection for you, and we are really excited to invite you to Opening Day this year,”
Anthony and Joe were overcome with excitement and emotion upon receiving the items from Trout and Freeman. They expressed their gratitude to Fanatics and the players for the signed gifts.
In January, the areas of Calabasas, the Hollywood Hills, Studio City and West Hills were heavily impacted by the wildfires. Over 12,000 buildings were destroyed and 27 people died as a result.
Freeman has been very active in providing support to the communities that lost so much in the wildfires. Freeman and his wife, Chelsea, have donated $300,000 to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the Pasadena Fire Department and the Salvation Army. Chelsea even offered additional resources to the Pasadena Humane Society to see to it that animals had shelter and were cared for.
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