Maple Leafs and their racing mascot both search for elusive wins

By R.S. Konjek 

Gustavo Carvalho has a secret identity.

A native of São Paulo, Brazil, this soft-spoken 19-year-old now lives in Toronto and studies sports management at Brock University. He hopes his studies will provide a springboard to a career in the sports industry.  

“My dream job is to be a general manager of a professional team,” he said. “I don’t really care what sport or what team it is.”

From an early age, sports has been in his blood. He played soccer as a youth, as well as basketball and baseball. His interest in the latter led him to an interesting gig at Christie Pits.

This spring, Carvalho found himself tagging along when his roommate was hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball club to be part of their new fan experience team. Led by gameday host Michael Roudbari, the team is 10 to 15 members strong and puts in a seven-hour shift each day the Leafs play.

Among the fan experience team’s tasks are setting up of tents and banners before the game, selling  merchandise and raffle tickets, and coordinating between-innings entertainment during Leafs games. This includes time-honoured activities like trivia contests, dance-offs, food-themed races, and leading kids for a run around the bases.

On certain days, another activity is added to the lineup. It’s called the Freeze Race.  

While Roudbari introduces the contest and seeks out a volunteer to participate, Carvalho ducks into the Leafs’ clubhouse like Clark Kent into a phone booth. Moments later, the figure that emerges is no longer Carvalho, but the Freeze.

Some context: the Freeze is a character first introduced in 2017 by Atlanta’s Major League Baseball club. Dressed in a spandex skinsuit and cowl, the Freeze is a lightning-fast sprinter. The Freeze Race is a simple premise. A volunteer from the crowd tests their speed against the stadium’s champion in a race across the outfield. The fan is even given a generous head start. Several seconds after they are sent on their way, the Freeze takes off in pursuit. With uncanny precision, the Freeze always overtakes the fan right before the finish.

This summer, the Leafs decided to add their own version of the Freeze Race to the Sunday schedule. When Carvalho applied to be part of the fan experience team, the race caught his eye.

“When I played baseball the one thing I loved was running the bases and just doing a lot of running,” he said.  “I made it very clear in my interview that [for] anything involved with running, call me in.”

That’s how a teenager from Brazil found himself spending the summer pelting across Christie Pits clad in a mint-green skinsuit.

There is an unexpected twist to the story: this Freeze has lost every race.

As of mid-July, the Freeze has a record of 0-5. The man behind the mask is taking it in stride.

“I always get close,” Carvalho said with a laugh. “I may not win but I always catch up. A couple more metres, and I would overtake them.”

Carvalho has endured some good-natured ribbing from his fan experience teammates.  One of them suggested that perhaps the Freeze should be given the head start, but he’s not letting the losing streak or the teasing get him down.

“I’m determined to win one. I can’t go undefeated, [but] at the end of the day it’s all about the fun and good experiences for the fans.”

If the Freeze does finally win one?

“You will never hear the end of it,” Carvalho said with a smile.

As for the Leafs, their season so far has mirrored that of the Freeze. They have struggled through multiple losing streaks and at the midpoint of the 2024 Intercounty Baseball League season, they find themselves in last place.

The Maple Leafs’ complete 2024 season schedule can be found at www.mapleleafsbaseball.com.

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