Vladimir Guerrero Jr. loves to kill the New York Yankees, on and off the field.
The Toronto Blue Jays first baseman has repeatedly expressed his dislike of the club’s AL East Division rival, saying last off-season that he’d never sign a contract with the Yankees, and he doubled down with his comments prior to Friday’s series opener in the Bronx.
Guerrero was asked about his hatred of New York’s ball club before the game, saying via interpreter Hector Lebron, “It’s a personal thing. It goes back with my family. That’s my decision and I will never change that.”
Vladdy could’ve taken a more diplomatic approach with his response, dodging the direct question from the New York-based reporter. But where’s the fun in that, right? So instead, he took another opportunity to dunk on the Yankees.
And, luckily for Blue Jays fans, the 24-year-old backed up his comments with a first-inning home run off right-hander Domingo German, clobbering a hanging 84-m.p.h. curveball over Toronto’s bullpen in left centre, providing his team with a 2-0 lead.
With that round-tripper, Guerrero blasted his 11th career home run at Yankee Stadium – a place he’s enjoyed plenty of success, entering Friday’s game with a .289/.344/.579 slash line and a 150 wRC+ across 31 career contests.
The two-time All-Star grounded out in his second at-bat of the game, though, hammering a 98-m.p.h. grounder at first baseman Anthony Rizzo.
Guerrero has enjoyed an impressive start to the 2023 season, with the right-handed slugger beginning the day hitting .338/.419/.473 with three home runs, nine RBIs and a 157 wRC+ over 19 games, worth 0.5 fWAR.
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