Vladimir Guerrero Jr. named winner of 2024 Tip O'Neill award

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has added another piece of hardware to his trophy cabinet. 

The Montreal-born slugger was named the winner of the 2024 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Tip O’Neill Award on Thursday. The annual award goes to Canada's top baseball player.

It is the second time Guerrero Jr. has received the award. He won in 2021, the same year he finished second in American League MVP voting.

“There were several outstanding candidates for this year’s Tip O’Neill Award, but we are proud to recognize Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for his All-Star and Silver Slugger award-winning season with the Toronto Blue Jays,” said Jeremy Diamond, chair of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s board of directors, in a statement. “When you look at his overall numbers, he was not only the best Canadian-born hitter in 2024, but he was one of the elite players in all of Major League Baseball.” 

The 25-year-old finished sixth in MVP voting in 2024, and slashed .323/.396/.544 with 199 hits, 30 home runs and 103 RBIs. Guerrero Jr. led all Canadian-born major leaguers in batting average (.323), OPS (.940), hits (199), runs (98), doubles (44), walks (72), and wins above replacement (6.2).

Guerrero Jr. also won the American League Silver Slugger award at first base and started in the All-Star game.  

There were several Canadian-born players who had exceptional seasons, including Cleveland Guardians’ Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.), who became the fourth Canadian reliever to finish with over 100 strikeouts and finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting. Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) and Tyler O’Neil (Maple Ridge B.C.) both joined Guerrero Jr. in crossing the 30-home run plateau. It was the second time in Major League history three Canadian-born players hit 30 or more homers in a season after Guerrero Jr., O’Neil, and Joey Votto all reached the mark in 2021.

The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame presents the Tip O’Neill Award annually to the Canadian player judged to have best excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to baseball’s highest ideals.

MLB NEWS

More Headlines

COMMENTS

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.