Hitting .280 with 11 home runs and 49 RBI isn’t considered a “down season” for most major leaguers, but for Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., it undoubtedly has been.
Former Blue Jay José Bautista is intimately familiar with the high expectations that follow being the focal point of a team that doesn’t just represent Toronto, but a whole country.
On Wednesday, Bautista shared his thoughts on Guerrero Jr.’s situation in an interview on The FAN Morning Show at The Joe Carter Golf Classic.
“If hitting .280-something with 11 home runs in June is struggling, I want to struggle,” Bautista joked. “[But] I understand the stakes are high, and there’s a lot on his shoulders because he’s the guy on this team.”
Bautista knows a thing about being “the guy” for the Blue Jays. Whether it was his franchise record-setting 54-home run season in 2010 or the iconic post-season bat flip in 2015, the player known as ‘Joey Bats’ routinely found himself at the centre of attention.
Guerrero Jr., similarly, has been pushed into the spotlight. Though where Bautista was a late bloomer — breaking out in 2010 as a 29-year-old in his third season with the Blue Jays — the expectations for Vlad Jr. were raised before he entered the Major Leagues.
Ranked no. 4 on MLB.com’s Top 30 International Prospects list in 2015, Guerrero Jr. immediately drew comparisons to his generational-hitter father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr. As soon as he made it up to the Majors in 2019, fans anticipated Vlad Jr. to be the next Blue Jays linchpin.
“For me, I felt like it came with responsibility and just made you operate in that way — be more responsible in your decisions and your habits every single day,” said Bautista, a three-time Silver Slugger. “You accept that responsibility and you try to do as good as you can.”
“He understands that — he knows that. And I hope that he learns how to manage that.”
The added responsibility of being a team’s superstar could potentially compound the pressure to break out of a slump, especially when the club’s results have been relatively disappointing as well, with a 43-37 record being only good enough for fourth in the AL East.
However, the 42-year-old Bautista — who will be inducted into the Blue Jays’ Ring of Honour on Aug. 12 — saw his fair share of slumps throughout his 15 years in the big leagues, and fully expects Guerrero Jr. to shake this off like he did.
“I’m not too worried about him,” said the six-time All-Star. “I will bet on the fact that at the end of the season, his stat line is going to look just fine.”