Like father, like son. Vladimir Guerrero never played for the Yankees, so neither will Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
No baseball team invokes strong, gut-deep feelings like the New York Yankees. You either love 'em or you hate 'em - it's rare to find a baseball fan who just doesn't really care about the Yankees. They are the sport's signature franchise and many of the game's greatest players have cycled through the New York lineup.
One Hall of Famer who managed to not play for the Yankees is Vladimir Guerrero. The former king of contact spent 16 productive years in the MLB before gracefully bowing out in 2011. He spent time with the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles (née Anaheim) Angels, Texas Rangers, and Baltimore Orioles. Never the New York Yankees.
Now, his son plans to carry on the family legacy - both at the plate, and in the Not Playing for New York department.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. began his career at a remarkable pace. Through 4.5 seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, he is splitting .284/.357/.499 with 113 home runs and 348 RBIs. The similarities to his father are undeniable: he's big, strong, and absolutely fearless at the plate. No pitch is safe.
Vladdy already has a home run title and two All-Star appearances to his name. He finished second in AL MVP voting in 2021. He has the potential to one day earn a place right alongside his father in the MLB record books. It's a special story and we're all lucky to witness it.
Unfortunately, if you're a Yankees fan who's plotting the next superstar poaching expedition for the New York front office, you'll have to scratch Guerrero's name out of your dream diary.
Guerrero has stated that he'll never sign with the Yankees. He has also stated - and this beautiful quote is 100 percent real - "I like to kill the Yankees." When asked about why, he told the New York Post: "It's a family thing." He also promised his father he would never share the explicit details of why it's a family thing.
So, Yankee fans must direct their anger and confusion at Vlad Sr. and theorize about why exactly he hates New York. The Yankees have made many enemies over the decades with their constant winning and frustrating density of quality players. Maybe Guerrero just didn't like playing for/against frontrunners. Or maybe, as Vlad Jr.'s quotes make it seem, there's a more personal angle beneath the surface.
If Junior is true to his word, we'll never know. What we do know is that the Toronto Blue Jays have Guerrero the Younger under contract through 2026 via arbitration. His long-term future beyond that is unknown, but one has to imagine the Jays want their slugger to stick around. And they can at least cross one team off the list of potential threats to steal Guerrero in free agency.