One of MLB's all-time great leadoff hitters is returning to his customary spot on Sunday.
George Springer will bat first for the Toronto Blue Jays in their season finale against the Cincinnati Reds. Coverage of the game starts on Sportsnet at 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was not included in Toronto's lineup for Game 162. The star first baseman has missed a career-high 17 games with back, hamstring, and concussion issues, including his first-ever major-league injured list stint.
If the 27-year-old doesn't make an appearance off the bench on Sunday, he will match the total number of games missed in his MLB career over the previous seven seasons.
Guerrero has had a shockingly unproductive season, hitting just nine home runs and 56 RBI with a .688 OPS over 144 games.
When it comes to players that are confirmed to take the field, all eyes will be on Springer's first at-bat.
The 37-year-old is second in MLB history with 65 leadoff home runs, trailing only Rickey Henderson's 81. Springer will get one more shot to increase his total against Reds starter Brandon Williamson.
Springer is in the final season of a six-year, $150-million contract with the Blue Jays, and his future after this year is uncertain.
“It’s emotional to think about it,” Springer said of the possibility that Sunday is his last game as a Blue Jay on Wednesday.
“Very, very grateful to our fans, this team, this organization. Obviously this is not the way that we all wanted it to end. But if it is, I'm going to do my best to embrace being back home for one last time and making sure that I do anything I can to reciprocate to the fans.”
Speaking to reporters before Sunday's game, an emotional Springer said he would likely be "happy-sad" when he leaves the field and is grateful for the support he received from Blue Jays fans over the years.
Springer added that when he returned to Toronto after the World Series, people kept thanking him.
"I should be saying thank you to them," he said.
Springer's numbers have declined this season — he has 15 home runs and a .722 OPS — but all-around his Blue Jays tenure has been a success.
Over the six years, he has 134 home runs, 392 RBI and a .791 OPS, not to mention four long balls and a .899 OPS during the Blue Jays' run to the World Series last season.
None were bigger than the seventh-inning shot off Eduard Bazardo in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series that sent Toronto to the Fall Classic for the first time since 1993.
Springer's future outside of Toronto is also unclear, with Sportsnet's Shi Davidi reporting that some close to him expect that he will retire once all is said and done.
“I don't know," Springer said of what's next for him ahead of Sunday's game. "I'll have that conversation with my wife and kind of go from there.”
