You are purchasing a 2020 Topps Significant
Statistics card #SS-1 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. serial numbered 08/10. The card shows Vladimir Guerrero’s
powerful swing in high resolution photography. The hardest-hit ball of 2019 was a
single. Playing in just his 12th
big-league game on May 11th Guerrero jumped on a first pitch sinker
down in the zone and ripped it to the left side. The shortstop had no chance, as it screamed
past him at 118.9 mph. As an added
bonus, you will receive a 2021 Topps Series One card #159 and a 2022 Bowman
card #54 of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. These
cards are an absolute must have for any Vladimir Guerrero Jr, MLB Prominent
or Dominant star or any Toronto Blue Jays collector/fan/investor!
Vladimir Guerrero Ramos Jr. (born March 16, 1999) is a
Canadian-Dominican professional baseball first
baseman and designated hitter for the Toronto Blue
Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the son of former MLB
player and Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr., making his major
league debut in April 2019. A right-handed batter and thrower, he is widely
regarded as one of MLB's best active hitters.
Born
in Montreal, Guerrero Jr. was signed by the Blue Jays as an
international free agent in 2015. In 2018, he was named Minor League
Player of the Year by both Baseball America and USA
Today after batting .381 with 20 home runs and
78 runs batted in (RBI) with 38 strikeouts in 95 games. In
2021, he led the major leagues in home runs (48, tied), runs scored (123),
and total bases (363). He was voted to the AL All-Star roster in
2021, during which he was voted MVP, the youngest to do so in All-Star Game
history, while also finishing second in AL MVP votes for the season.
Early life
Vladimir
Guerrero Ramos Jr. is the son of baseball Hall of Famer Vladimir
Guerrero, and a nephew 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. His mother, Riquelma
Ramos, learned to speak French while living in Montreal and later
moved with him to the Dominican Republic, where Vladimir Jr. spent most of his
early childhood. His parents separated when he was very young and his mother
moved to Santiago, Dominican Republic. Guerrero would split time between
Santiago with his mother, Don Gregorio with his Uncle Wilton, and
during the summer, in the United States with his father.
In
2003, Vladimir Sr. received a standing ovation during his final game for the
Expos at Olympic Stadium. His teammates sent Vladimir Jr., wearing a
child's Expos uniform, out onto the field to join him. His father told him to
take off his helmet and wave to the crowd, resulting in what has been called an
iconic photo.
As
a youth, Guerrero was trained in baseball by his Uncle Wilton. He said of
Wilton "I think everything I've learned in baseball has been from him.
I've been practicing with him since I was five. He's the one who taught me to
practice well."
Professional career
Minor
leagues[edit]
Eligible
for free agency in 2015, Baseball America ranked
Guerrero as the top international free agent, and MLB.com ranked
him the fourth-best. He signed with Toronto on July 2, 2015, for $3.9
million at age 16. Guerrero was assigned to extended spring training camp to
open the 2016 minor league season. Guerrero made his professional baseball
debut with the Rookie Advanced Bluefield Blue Jays on June
23. Guerrero hit his first professional home run on June 24, a
two-run shot in a 4–2 loss to the Bristol Pirates. On August 12,
Guerrero recorded his first multi-home run game, hitting two solo shots in an
18–5 win against the Pulaski Yankees. Later in August, he was named
the Appalachian League's All-Star at third base. Guerrero
played in 62 games for Bluefield in 2016, and hit .271 with eight
home runs, 46 runs batted in (RBI), and 15 stolen bases. On
January 24, 2017, MLB named Guerrero the third best prospect at third base
heading into the 2017 minor league season.
Guerrero
opened the 2017 minor league season with the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts.
In a 6–3 win over the Great Lakes Loons on April 7, he hit his first
home run of the season. Guerrero was named a Midwest League All-Star
on June 7, and on June 29, he was named to the World team roster for
the 2017 All-Star Futures Game. On July 6, the Blue Jays announced
Guerrero would be promoted to the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue
Jays following the All-Star Futures Game. In a game against
the Clearwater Threshers on August 31, Guerrero hit a home run to
give the Blue Jays a 5–3 victory, with the win ensuring Dunedin would make
the Florida State League playoffs. Guerrero finished the 2017
regular season with a .323 batting average, 13 home runs, and 76 RBI in 119
games played. He also walked more than he struck out, with 76
and 62 respectively, and posted a .910 on-base plus
slugging percentage (OPS). On September 6, Guerrero was
named ESPN's Prospect of the Year. During the offseason, he played in
26 games for the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Winter
League.
Entering
the 2018 season, Guerrero was considered the top prospect in the Blue Jays
organization by MLB and Baseball America. On March 23, Blue Jays
team president Mark Shapiro announced that Guerrero would begin the
season with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Through the
first month of the season, he led the Eastern League with a .398
batting average and 30 runs batted in. On June 4, Guerrero was named the
Eastern League's Player of the Month after hitting .438 with nine home runs and
28 RBI in May. On June 6, Guerrero was removed from a game against
the Akron Rubber Ducks with a leg injury. Three days later, it was
determined that he had a strained patellar ligament in his left knee,
and would be on the disabled list for at least four weeks. On July 28, it
was announced that Guerrero would be promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo
Bisons following his father's induction into the National Baseball
Hall of Fame and Museum. Guerrero hit .402 with 14 home runs and 60 RBI in 61
games with New Hampshire. On August 30, the Blue Jays added Guerrero to
the roster of the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall
League (AFL).
Entering
2019 spring training, questions arose as to whether the Blue Jays organization
would have Guerrero on the Opening Day roster, or seek to manipulate
his MLB service time by assigning him to the minors to begin the season.
Keeping Guerrero in the minor leagues for the first two weeks of the season
would prevent him from reaching free agency until after the 2025 season. On March
10, the Blue Jays announced that Guerrero had suffered an oblique strain two
days earlier and was ruled out for the rest of spring training.
Toronto
Blue Jays
2019
On
April 24, 2019, the Blue Jays announced that Guerrero would be called up from
Triple-A Buffalo on April 26. Guerrero was considered the top prospect in all
of professional baseball prior to being called up, and was hitting
.367/.424/.700 with three home runs and eight RBIs during an eight-game stint
with Buffalo in 2019. He went hitless in his first three at-bats against
the Oakland Athletics before hitting a double in the bottom
of the ninth inning and exiting for a pinch runner. Guerrero recorded his
first multi hit game, and reached base safely four times, on May 11.
On
May 14, against the San Francisco Giants in Oracle Park, Guerrero hit
his first major league home run in the first inning off Nick Vincent. At
20 years and 59 days of age, Guerrero became the youngest Blue Jay to hit a
home run, breaking Danny Ainge's record by 18 days. In the sixth inning,
with two men on, he hit another home run off Reyes Moronta. He hit two
more home runs in the following series against the Chicago White Sox,
including one that bounced off the glove of center fielder Leury
Garcia and over the wall. Guerrero's four home runs over a six-game road
trip earned him the American League Player of the Week Award, and made him
the youngest Blue Jay to win the award. On May 22, he hit his first home
run at the Rogers Centre off Rick Porcello of
the Boston Red Sox. On May 31, Guerrero's sixth home run, against
the Colorado Rockies, was the 1,135th home run in May throughout Major
League Baseball, breaking the MLB record for most home runs in a single
month. On July 8, he broke the single round home run record in the Home
Run Derby with a total of 40 home runs after three overtimes in the
semifinals against Joc Pederson. He also broke the record for most home
runs in a derby with 91, although he lost the final round to Pete
Alonso. In 2019, Guerrero batted .272/.339/.433 with 15 home runs and 69
RBI in 464 at bats. He hit a ball with the highest exit
velocity (118.9 mph) of all balls hit by major league batters in
2019.
2020
On
July 10, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo announced that Guerrero
would shift primarily to playing first base, but would still play at third base
and designated hitter when necessary. Overall with the 2020 Blue
Jays, Guerrero played in all 60 games of the shortened season and batted .262
with nine home runs and 33 RBIs.
2021
Guerrero
began the 2021 MLB season at a substantially lower weight than he did each of
the previous two seasons. After beginning a weight loss regimen in July 2020,
Guerrero went on to lose 42 pounds. The reduced weight made him feel
"quicker, stronger and more resilient." Guerrero opened the 2021
season as the Blue Jays primary first baseman while also getting routine starts
at the designated hitter position.
On
April 27, 2021, Guerrero had his first career three-homer game, including a
grand slam against Washington Nationals starter Max Scherzer, to
go along with 7 RBI on the day. On June 21, Guerrero rejected an
invitation to participate in the 2021 Home Run Derby, despite setting the
records for most home runs in a single round (29) and most home runs in a single
derby (91) in 2019. He stated that he was looking forward to playing in
the All-Star Game but would like to use the time to otherwise regroup
and "refresh mentally" for the second half of the season. On
June 26, Guerrero hit his 50th career home run in his 258th career game,
reaching the milestone in the exact same number of games as his father.
The
MLB announced on June 27 that Guerrero was a voting finalist for the starting
first base position at the 2021 All-Star Game in Colorado, having led all MLB
players in Phase 1 of voting with 2,704,788 votes. The next closest vote-getter was Ronald
Acuña Jr., a center fielder for the Atlanta Braves of
the National League. On June 28, Guerrero was named the American League
Player of the Week, after hitting home runs in three consecutive games, driving
in seven runs and batting to a .391/.481/.826 slash line. It was Guerrero's
first Player of the Week honor since August 2019. On July 1, Guerrero was named
the starting first baseman for the American League in the All-Star Game. In
the game, he hit the 200th home run in All-Star Game history, became part of
the third father-son duo to hit 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 119 days, beating Ken Griffey Jr. when he was 22 and 236
days. On September 6, in a game against the New York Yankees,
Guerrero hit his 40th home run of the season, joining his father as the second
father-son duo in MLB history to each have a 40-home run season in their
careers. Previously, the only father and son to have done so were Cecil
Fielder and his son Prince, both of whom played during the career of
the elder Guerrero.
Guerrero
finished the 2021 season batting .311/.401/.601 and tied the major league lead
in home runs with Salvador Pérez (48), led in runs scored (123), and
led the majors in total bases (363). He won the American League Hank Aaron
Award & the Tip O'Neill Award for 2021, but
finished second in American League MVP voting behind Shohei
Ohtani.
2022
On
March 22, 2022, Guerrero signed a $7.9 million contract with the Blue Jays,
avoiding salary arbitration. During an April 13, 2022, game against
the New York Yankees, Guerrero hit a home run off Gerrit
Cole and subsequently had his hand stepped on by Aaron
Hicks during a play at first base. Despite the injury, he remained in the
game and hit two more home runs, finishing the day at 4-for-4 with 3 home runs
and 4 RBIs.
Guerrero
then became the first player in Major League history to hit three home runs in
a game (April 13), then strike out at least four times the following game
(April 14).
Scouting report
Guerrero
was seen as a top prospect due to his exceptional hitting ability, which scouts
often graded an 80, the highest possible mark on baseball's 20-to-80 scouting
scale. His power often received a 70 grade, which indicates a
"plus-plus" tool in the scouting industry. Defensively, scouts were
unsure if he could remain at third base at the major league level, but he has
shown the potential to develop into a passable defender. However, Keith
Law has stated that due to Guerrero's body type, he is a future designated
hitter.
Personal life
Guerrero
speaks English with his Blue Jays teammates and team staff but gives media
interviews, including the one on the field after winning the 2021 All-Star Game
MVP, in Spanish using the team's interpreter. In 2019 he said, "I'm trying
to learn as quickly as possible so I can talk to fans." Due to his
upbringing in Montreal, he is also fluent in French. His
cousin Gabriel Guerrero also plays professional
baseball. Guerrero has two daughters. In a 2012 paternity suit it was
revealed that Vladimir Sr. has eight children with five different women, meaning
Vladimir Jr. has at least seven siblings. He has been cared for by his
paternal grandmother, Altagracia, during his time in the Blue Jays
organization. Guerrero is a Christian.
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