Vladimir Guerrero Jr. passes Albert Pujols on Home Run Derby all-time list
Toronto Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. put on a show in the first round of the 2023 Home Run Derby, and in the process, he passed an absolute legend.
Guerrero hit 26 dingers in his round against Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He didn't hit the most hits in the round -- that honor belonged to Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox with 28 followed by Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman with 27 -- but Vlad's round was special nonetheless.
Coming into the contest, he had a career Home Run Derby total of 91 home runs. Impressively enough, all 91 of those dingers came in the 2019 Home Run Derby, the last time he made a derby appearance. With the 26 he hit in round one, Guerrero's all-time dinger count was 117, which both exactly matched his career in-game HR total and put him ahead of superstar slugger and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, who hit 106 home runs in his derby career.
Vlad Guerrero Jr. is now the second-best home run derby slugger behind just Pete Alonso, but the bad news for the Toronto star is that Alonso is also in the 2023 derby. Given all that, it seems unlikely that Guerrero Jr. will be able to become No. 1 on the all-time list this time around.
Still, it has to be pretty cool for Guerrero Jr., who has followed in his father's home-run-hitting footsteps.
Vladimir Guerrero Sr., an eight-time silver slugger, hit 449 career home runs. Halfway through his fifth MLB season, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has 117 career home runs, both in and outside the derby.
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