A superstar slugger cannot be relied on like the take-over-a-game greats in other sports. You can’t get him the ball again and again. You can’t give him more minutes at the expense of the end of the bench. He needs other guys before and after him in the order to make his contributions mean something. Even if he’s the best hitter who ever lived, more often than not he fails at the plate. This egalitarian setup, inherent to baseball, is how Guys like Bucky Dent, David Freese, or Howie Kendrick become legends. But in Game 4 on Tuesday night, it was the richest and most famous Blue Jay who controlled the game.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been pegged for greatness since he was born during spring training of 1999, after a season in which his father hit .324 and bopped 38 homers at a mere 23 years old. A top prospect as a teenager, Guerrero the younger debuted for Toronto at age 20 and was immediately a solid big-league hitter. The next couple seasons were made weird by COVID, but he dominated in 2021 with an OPS+ of 167 that was higher than Vlad Sr. ever achieved. However, a talent like his could only carry a team so far, and the Blue Jays continued to disappoint. They missed the playoffs in 2021, lost all four of their postseason games in ’22 and ’23 as Vlad took a step back offensively, then wasted a resurgence as he put up a .940 OPS for a squad that finished last in the AL East. Still, the Jays believed that they needed him if they were going to do something worthwhile this decade. In April, before he could become a free agent, Toronto signed the 26-year-old to a 14-year, $500 million contract. If nothing else, Blue Jays fans could feel safe investing in Vlad shirseys.
