Of all the eye-popping numbers compiled by Vladimir Guerrero Jr in his third big league season, I think 161 might be the one that jumps out at me first. One hundred and sixty one games played and a hair under 700 plate appearances. All that world-beating productivity while avoiding injury, keeping that enormous bat in the lineup every day, save a single respite at the start of August.
A rolled ankle on Saturday afternoon was about as close as it got during the 2021 season to putting Vlad Jr on the shelf as he built a breakout season for the ages, setting records and etching his name in Blue Jays lore forever.
The thing is, 161 games played feels like at least four too few.
The Toronto Blue Jays finished the season as one of the best teams in baseball. Vlad Jr finished the year as one of the most valuable players in the game, one of its most fearsome hitters. No qualifiers for age or experience level required. No need to corporate drug store receipt his stats. Guerrero did damage and hit one astounding home run after another. He made his mark on the game of baseball in 2021 like it was a distant blue chair at the dome.
His season is over and it doesn’t feel right. Vlad Jr and his teammates have so much left to give the baseball world, so much more to give to the city and the country, it feels like we’re all being cheated.
Which isn’t true, of course. The Blue Jays won 91 games but that’s still one too few. I guess the question will become how do we remember this team in a most unforgettable year? There are a lot of questions and roster decisions that will determine the ultimate legacy of the most overqualified fourth place team in history.
But for Guerrero, this is only the beginning. As you’ve read in this space countless times over the past six months, this doesn’t happen often. This is rare air that he’s occupying, hitting for power and average without striking out and also drawing walks and and and and…
But it is more than just the production and the manner in which it was produced. Vlad Jr is not as close to a household name in Canada as baseball can support because of a workmanlike approach and detached professionalism. He is more. He is bigger than just A Guy Who Whacks Baseballs.
He is determined to continue improving and he is also determined to have a good time doing it. Everything we saw this year, from the fitness commitment in the winter to the adjustments at the plate and the quieter moments connecting with teammates and rivals alike show a guy that is easy to root for and even easier to believe capable of big things in big moments.
We won’t see the next act in Vlad Jr’s show until 20221 but now, as compared to last October, we have seen what’s possible.
One thing I’ve taken to say goes along the lines of “players are allowed to have career years, it doesn’t have to become their new standard.” Blue Jays fans probably shouldn’t pencil Teoscar Hernández in for a .300 average with 30 home runs because, perhaps, 2021 represents the one time it all clicked for Mr. Seeds. And that’s okay! It’s good when the stars align but we can’t demand it forever and always from everyone.
But Vlad Jr is different in every possible way. His 2021 production doesn’t have to be his new standard but this type of performance can be par for the course from him for years to come. Nothing about it is fluky2. It was all the same stuff that tantalized below the surface in 2019 and 2020, finally unlocked through the power of kettlebells.3
He touched the sky this season and yet it remains the limit. Settling into a dull .300/.400/.600 rut seems about right to me, with a whole lot of joie de vivre generously added to the mix.
We’re already spoiled but it’s okay to want more. More games in 2021, more seasons like the one he just put together. More home runs (50 has a nice ring to it), more customized dances and, most importantly, more at bats taken in October. That’s the one that I will get greedy about and not feel even a little bit guilty about it.
Run it back but take it further. I want it all and Vladimir Guerrero Jr showed us all that he can, and will, deliver.
Labour peace through fair and equitable bargaining plz
Except for that one thing
Comrade Vladimir, welcome