Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went viral for the wrong reasons over the past couple of days. Guerrero appeared on a podcast and admitted that he feels the Blue Jays had already paid him for what he has done and not what he is going to do. But the timing was the issue.
His comments surfaced just as Toronto had been eliminated from the MLB playoffs, just one year after reaching the World Series, and the biggest person to blame for their shortcomings is undoubtedly Guerrero.
Across 142 games this year, the 27-year-old superstar has posted a .263 batting average, .335 on-base percentage, .695 OPS, nine home runs and 56 RBIs. He has dealt with some recurring lower back discomfort, but his power has largely gone missing.
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With backlash increasing from a fan base that has supported him, Guerrero faced growing frustration over his response to a down year.
He spoke with reporters for the first time since Wednesday ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Cincinnati Reds at Rogers Centre. He opened with a statement expressing an apology.
“The reason I’m here because I regret my comments the other day. I feel from my heart, my fans, my teammates, they needed an apology from me, and that’s why I’m here for,” Guerrero said through an interpreter, per Mitch Bannon of The Athletic.
For Guerrero, his comments were not necessarily incorrect. The Blue Jays did ink him to a 14-year, $500 million contract due to the fact that he is a six-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Award winner who was the best hitter on their path to the World Series last year.
The problem was the lack of accountability and the timing, and Guerrero took a step forward in making it right on Friday.
