Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

At 25 years old, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has this physical status:

Vladimir Guerrero Ramos Jr. (born March 16, 1999) is a professional baseball third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He is the son of former MLB player Vladimir Guerrero Sr.

In April 2019, he made his professional debut.

Early life

Vladimir Guerrero Ramos Jr. is the son of former MLB player Wilton Guerrero and the uncle of former MLB player Wilton Guerrero. He was born in Montreal while his father was playing for the Montreal Expos and is a Canadian citizen. Riquelma Ramos, his mother, learned to speak French while living in Montreal and later moved with him to the Dominican Republic, where Vladimir Jr. spent the majority of his childhood. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother moved to Santiago, Dominican Republic. Guerrero would divide time between Don Gregorio and his Uncle Wilton in Santiago, and his grandfather, William John Carter, in the United States during the summer.

During Vladimir Sr.'s last game for the Expos at Olympic Stadium in 2003, he received a standing ovation. Vladimir Jr.'s teammates carried him out onto the field to support him, wearing a child's Expos uniform. His father begged him to take off his helmet and wave to the crowd, resulting in what has been described as a classic picture.

Guerrero was introduced to baseball by his Uncle Wilton as a youth. "I think everything I've learned in baseball has come from him," Wilton said. I've been working with him since he was five years old. He's the one who taught me how to exercise properly."

Personal life

Guerrero speaks English with his Blue Jays teammates and staff but also does media interviews, including one on the field after winning the 2021 All-Star Game MVP award in Spanish using the team's interpreter. "I'm trying to learn as much as possible so I can talk to supporters," Trump said in 2019. He is also fluent in French thanks to his upbringing in Montreal. Gabriel Guerrero, Gabriel Guerrero's uncle, also plays professional baseball. Guerrero has two children. Vladimir Sr. has eight children with five different women, according to a 2012 paternity lawsuit, which means Vladimir Jr. has at least seven siblings. During his time in the Blue Jays organization, he was cared for by his paternal grandmother, Altagracia. Guerrero is a Christian.

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Professional career

In 2015, Baseball America named Guerrero as the best international free agent in the country, and MLB.com named him as the fourth best in the world. He joined Toronto for $3.9 million at age 16. Guerrero was given a spring training camp to begin the 2016 minor league season. Guerrero made his professional baseball debut with the Rookie Advanced Blue Jays on June 23. Guerrero's first professional home run came in a 4–2 loss to the Bristol Pirates on June 24, a two-run shot in a two-run game. Guerrero won by two solo shots in an 18-5-2 victory over the Pulaski Yankees on August 12, his first multi-home run game. He was named the All-Star at third base in the Appalachian League later in August. Guerrero was active in 62 games for Bluefield in 2016, peaking at.271 with eight home runs, 46 runs batted in (RBI), and 15 stolen bases. Guerrero was named the third best prospect at third base in MLB history on January 24, 2017.

Guerrero started the 2017 minor league season with the Lansing Lugnuts. He won by 6–3 over the Great Lakes Loons on April 7, his first home run of the season. Guerrero was named a Midwest All-Star on June 7, and on June 29, he was promoted to the World team roster for the 2017 All-Star Futures Game. Following the All-Star Futures Game, the Blue Jays announced Guerrero would be promoted to the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays on July 6. Guerrero won by a 5–3 victory over the Blue Jays in a game against the Clearwater Threshers on August 31, with the victory guaranteeing Dunedin will advance to the Florida State League playoffs. Guerrero had a.323 batting average, 13 home runs, and 76 RBI in 119 games played in the 2017 regular season. With 76 and 62 respectively, he fought out, while his 1.0 on-base plus slugging percentage stood out. Guerrero was dubbed ESPN's Year of the Year on September 6, 2007--addict. He appeared in 26 games for the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Winter League during the offseason.

Guerrero was regarded as the top prospect in the Blue Jays organization by MLB and Baseball America in the 2018 season. Guerrero will begin the season with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats on March 23, according to Blue Jays team president Mark Shapiro. He led the Eastern League with a.398 batting average and 30 runs batted in through the first month of the season. Guerrero was named Player of the Month on June 4, after hitting.438 with nine home runs and 28 RBI in May. Guerrero was forced to miss a match against the Akron RubberDucks on June 6, due to a leg injury. It was found that he had strained patellar ligament in his left knee three days earlier, and he's expected to be on the disabled list for at least four weeks. Following his father's induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Guerrero will be promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on July 28. In 61 games with New Hampshire, Guerrero hit.402 with 14 home runs and 60 RBI. Guerrero was added to the Surprise Saros of the Arizona Fall League roster on August 30, according to AFL).

Questions regarding whether the Blue Jays roster will feature Guerrero on the Opening Day roster or plan to manipulate his MLB service time by assigning him to the minors to begin the season were raised as well as in 2019. Guerrero's stay in the minor leagues for the first two weeks of the season will have him avoid running for free agency until after the 2025 season. Guerrero had suffered an oblique strain two days earlier and had been suspended for the remainder of spring training, according to the Blue Jays on March 10.

Guerrero would be called up from Triple-A Buffalo on April 24, 2019. Guerrero had been regarded as the top prospect in all of professional baseball prior to being called up, and he was hitting.367/.424/.700 with three home runs and eight RBIs in an eight-game stint with Buffalo in 2019. In his first three at-bats against the Oakland Athletics, he was hitless before striking a double in the ninth inning and calling for a pinch runner. Guerrero played his first multi hit game and reached base four times on May 11.

In the first inning against the San Francisco Giants, Nick Vincent hit his first major league home run in Oracle Park, Guerrero, on May 14. Guerrero became the first Blue Jay to crack a home run at 20 years and 59 days of age, defeating Danny Ainge's record by 18 days. He hit another home run off Reyes Moronta in the sixth inning, with two guys on the field. In the following series against the Chicago White Sox, he scored two more home runs, one of which bounced off center fielder Leury Garcia's glove and across the wall. Guerrero's four home runs following a six-game road trip earned him the American League Player of the Week Award, making him the youngest Blue Jay to win the accolade. Rick Porcello of the Boston Red Sox scored his first home run at the Rogers Centre on May 22. Guerrero's sixth home run against the Colorado Rockies in May was the 1,135th home run in Major League Baseball, breaking the MLB record for the most home runs in a single month. After three overtimes against Joc Pederson in the semifinals, he tied for the single-round home run record in the Home Run Derby with a total of 40 home runs. With 91, he tied for most home runs in a derby, but he lost the final round to Pete Alonso. Guerrero batted.272/.433/.433 in 464 at bats in 2019. He hit a ball with the highest exit velocity (118.9 mph) of all balls struck by major league batters in 2019.

The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of the 2020 campaign into July. Guerrero will mostly play first base, according to Blue Jays boss Charlie Montoyo, although he will continue to play third base and designated hitter when appropriate. Guerrero, a 2020 Blue Jays fan, appeared in all 60 games of the shortened season and batted.262 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs.

Guerrero began the 2021 MLB season at a much lower weight than he did in previous two seasons. Guerrero lost 42 pounds after starting a weight loss diet in July 2020. "The lowered weight made him feel "quicker, stronger, and more tenacious." Guerrero started the 2021 season as the Blue Jays' primary first baseman, while also getting to the designated hitter position.

Guerrero played his first three-homer game, as well as a grand slam against Washington Nationals starter Max Scherzer, who had 7 RBI on the day. Guerrero declined an invitation to compete in the 2021 Home Run Derby, despite setting the record for the most home runs in a single round (29) and the most home runs in a single derby (91) in 2019. He expressed excitement about participating in the All-Star Game, but he wanted to rest and "refresh physically" for the second half of the season. Guerrero's career game was his 50th home run in his 258th game, the same number of games as his father.

Guerrero was a voting finalist for the starting first base position at the 2021 All-Star Game in Colorado, winning by 2,704,788 votes, according to the MLB. Ronald Acua Jr., a center fielder for the Atlanta Braves of the National League, was the next closest vote-getter. Guerrero was named America League Player of the Week on Sunday after hitting home runs in three consecutive games, driving in seven runs and batting to a.391/.826 slash line. It was Guerrero's first Player of the Week award since August 2019. Guerrero, the All-Star Game's starting first baseman, was selected on July 1st. He scored his 200th home runs in All-Star Games history, became part of the third father-son team to reach home runs in All-Star Games, and was named as the game's Most Valuable Player. He was the first Blue Jays player to win, the first Canadian citizen to win, and the youngest All-Star Game MVP at age 22 and 236 days, defeating Ken Griffey Jr. at 22 and 236 days old. Guerrero scored his 40th home run of the season on September 6, joining his father as the second father-son tandem in MLB history to each have a 40-home run season in their careers. Cecil Fielder and his son Prince were the only father and son to have done so before, both of whom participated during the elder Guerrero's time.

Guerrero finished his 2021 season with a batting average of.311/.601 and tied for the most home runs with Salvador Pérez (48), who led in runs scored (123), and led the majors in total bases (363). For 2021, he received the American League Hank Aaron Award and the Tip O'Neill Award, but he finished second in American League MVP voting behind Shohei Ohtani.

Guerrero signed a $7.9 million contract with the Blue Jays on March 22, 2022, avoiding salary arbitration. Guerrero ran off a home run off Gerrit Cole and then Aaron Hicks was stepping on his hand during a play at first base during a game against the New York Yankees on April 13, 2022. Despite the injury, he stayed in the game and hit two more home runs, ending the day 4-for-4 with 3 home runs and 4 RBIs.

Guerrero was the first player in Major League history to reach three home runs in a game (April 13), but the following game saw out at least four runs (April 14).

Guerrero was drafted to begin the All-Star Game at first base for the American League later this season.

He hit a home run against the Tampa Bay Rays on September 14, his 100th home run of his career. He was the youngest Blue Jay to ever 100 home runs and 100 doubles in MLB history with this home run.

He was leading the major leagues in doubles plays grounded into (2021), batted.339/.480 with 32 home runs, 97 RBIs, and 116 strikeouts in 2022. He was selected as a finalist for the American League's first base.

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