One in 2016, one in 2017, three in 2018 and just one so far in 2019. The question who would need to ask to receive the above answers is “how many home runs has Zack Britton allowed over the last four years?”
The answer was six. And then it became seven.
Usually when Britton gets taken deep, he makes a mistake. This doesn’t happen too often, as Britton has allowed the fewest home runs in baseball since 2016. On the rare occasion that he does get smacked, his deadly, diving sinker, stays up in the zone and good hitters (other Britton homerers include Nelson Cruz, Mookie Betts, Jose Abreu and personal favourite Matt Olsen) punish him for it.
Or, if you’re Vladimir Guerrero Jr, you take a pitch thrown less than 18 inches off the ground and hit it 434 feet, on a line, at 110 mph.
More than just another example of Vlad Jr doing something normal hitters don’t do (square Britton up on a pitch thrown below the zone), more than just another example of Vlad Jr hitting well in late game situations (he’s up to .368/.400/.789 in late & close situations), it’s just one of those things that you see and say “oh right, he’s very, very good.” Because Vladimir Guerrero Jr is very good. He tends to get timely hits because, as we will see, he’s going to get hits at all times. Lots of them.
Wednesday night against the Yankees, with most people eagerly anticipating Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Guerrero provided another mini breakout that’s been simmering for a month. His OPS nudges .800 even after the ugly start to his year. Tracing back to his lowest point—the start of the series against the White Sox at the Rogers Centre, when he took an 0 for 3 and grounded into a double play—he’s hit .295/.361/.591 with seven home runs and just 14 strikeouts in 97 plate appearances. He’s good. Very good, in fact!
In addition to his late game heroics, Guerrero also reached on an error (a hard hit ball that Gleyber Torres handled easily but promptly threw away), earned a hometown scorer’s decision single and walked after James Paxton expressed zero interest in giving him much to hit. It was, we assume, a very Vlad Jr game. He will continue hitting the ball harder than most and he will often do so exactly when the moment demands it.
Zack Britton always knew what Vlad Jr could do. Now Yankees fans know what’s waiting to haunt them for the better part of the next decade. As for us? We always knew, but now we can see.