Life's too short to live in vain
Preparing for the unexpected breakout we all knew was coming
Tuesday was Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s 22nd birthday and he celebrated in style, banging out a week’s worth of extra base hits. The Jays still-very-young infielder punished Phillies’ pitching like they were [insert Philly-specific reference here. I dunno, something about the King of Prussia mall.]
Vlad Jr’s incredibly encouraging spring rolled on, bludgeoning Baycare Ballpark with 1000 feet of hits, poetically knocking two doubles on his 22nd birthday. Vlad Jr has spent this spring lofting the ball — matching his elite ability to put the bat on the ball with the required trajectory for home runs and extra base hits — suggesting one element of the pre-anointed superstar Blue Jays fans have longed for has arrived.
These fours hits, and the hits on the weekend and the entirety of a 25 plate appearance spring season have prompted a different kind of feeling around Vladimir Guerrero Jr: hope.
Hope, the hope that I feel around Vlad Jr right now, is different than the sentiment around him in previous seasons. Before there was only expectation. Well founded expectation, it should be said. Expectation created by not just his name and but his performance on the field. Expectation that didn’t flag after rocky rookie season.
Even after his strong finish to 2020, the overall performance in the COVID-19-shortened season sowed considerable doubt. No longer was he among like the surest things to ever come through the Blue Jays farm system. He had 700 plate appearances of meh performance under his belt, the future MVP awards and Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremonies we were promised went indefinitely on hold.
But now things feel hopeful. Not certain but world-beating performance seems within reach, it seems plausible and possible. I can’t help but anticipate the sweetness of what a triumphant season offers. Blue Jays fans and Guerrero true believers have ridden a rollercoaster for the last two seasons. It’s starting to feel different and that’s starting to feel good.
Spring Training is still just Spring Training but that shouldn’t get in the way of good vibes coming out of central Florida. A great hitter is swinging the bat like a great hitter should. There’s no reason not to sit back and enjoy it. It might be the sort of thing we can get used to.
Great game! That two of his hits were a triple and an infield single also makes me feel good about his baserunning (pickoff at first notwithstanding).