MONTREAL – There’s a fairly famous photo of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at three-and-a-half years old, decked out in a Montreal Expos uniform, holding up his batting helmet at Olympic Stadium alongside his famous father. Taken by Paul Chaisson of The Canadian Press on Sept. 29, 2002, the pic often circulates through social media and was particularly poignant Monday, as Guerrero returned to the Big O for the first time since his days as a rambunctious toddler, this time around as a gilt-edged prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Nostalgia, however, took the young slugger’s memories elsewhere. More than places in Montreal, where he was born March 16, 1999, his strongest memories of the city are of the food, he said, which is why when the team arrived Sunday night he went out for some poutine. And upon arriving at the stadium where his dad launched a Hall of Fame career and he romped through the halls, the first thing he did was look for the machine in the home clubhouse where he so often used to crush ice cream.
"I remembered that and I found out it wasn’t there anymore," Guerrero, in comments interpreted by Josue Peley, told a large gathering of reporters. "The first thing I did when I came here with my dad, before or during or after games, was to go eat ice cream at that machine."
Expos star Vladimir Guerrero and his son are pictured at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium in 2002. Vladimir Jr. was born in the city and is now a top-prospect with the Blue Jays. (Paul Chiasson/AP)
The Blue Jays’ high-performance department may very well frown over that, but the uber-talented 19-year-old, set to open the season at double-A New Hampshire with fellow farm system crown jewel Bo Bichette, continues to do plenty right.
With six hits in nine at-bats over two Grapefruit League games, he’s caught the eye of the Blue Jays coaching staff and player-development team, although the club has worked diligently to try and temper expectations.
Monday came another step. Wearing the same No. 27 his dad sported as he long has, he took the field as a defensive replacement for Yangervis Solarte in the top of the seventh inning to a standing ovation from a crowd of 25,335, acknowledged the crowd and then got down to business. He went 0-for-2 in the Blue Jays’ 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, but was a miserable out both times, lining out against Mike Mayers in the seventh and grounding out versus former Blue Jay Dominic Leone in the ninth.
"It was very nice of them, I was happy and then I was just like, OK, back home now," Guerrero said of the ovation. "I was nervous when (John) Gibbons told me I was going into the game, but as soon as I stepped out on the field it’s just another baseball game for me. I wasn’t too nervous."
Like all players in the Blue Jays system, Guerrero will report to his assignment after the warmups in Montreal with a development plan, one they’ve told him to closely stick to.
"For example," he explained, "when I take my grounders during BP, to make sure I take those grounders like it’s game-like. I think it’s been working really well for me and I’ve got to make sure I stick to that plan in order to be ready for whenever they call me up."
Other elements of the plan include a focus on his footwork to help him move more quickly on the hot corner, "but there’s lots of other stuff in there that I have to work on," he added.
Bichette also made the trip to Montreal — he also went 0-fo-2 – and may have faced similar fanfare had the Blue Jays been in Denver, where his dad Dante starred for the Colorado Rockies. He and Guerrero became linked last year as they dominated at low-A Lansing, went to the Futures Game prospect showcase together and then were promoted to advanced-A Dunedin.
Throughout their ascensions in the farm system and prospect rankings, they’ve become linked.
"Off the field it’s a little bit harder for me to communicate with him with the language barrier. But on the field it’s amazing," Guerrero says of having Bichette as a teammate. "We communicate, we understand, we don’t have to speak English or Spanish, we play baseball between the lines and have fun. We challenge each other and I think it’s a good thing."
Another good thing, Guerrero believes, is all that comes with being the son of a Hall of Famer, and he chooses to see the expectations that come with his last name as motivation rather than pressure.
"It gives me more energy and excitement, knowing my dad is a Hall of Famer, I want to be just like him, or even better than him," says Guerrero. "I’m just trying to give my hundred per cent and have fun every time I go out there, just like he did."
The first person Guerrero phoned when he learned of the Montreal trip was his dad, who had other engagements that kept him from making the trip. Proud papa would only have added to the back to the future experience.
"Since I walked into the locker room today, it felt like home," said Guerrero. "It’s just great to be here."
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