TORONTO – John Schneider has known Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the better part of a decade now – long enough to know when something’s changed. And Saturday morning, ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays’ ALDS opener against the New York Yankees, Schneider sensed “a little bit of a different feel about Vlad.”
Was it the vintage, sleeveless 1991 All-Star Game shirt Guerrero Jr. wore as he took batting practice on the field pre-game? Or maybe the backwards white panel hat Guerrero Jr. wore as he ran sprints in the outfield and the crowd of 44,655 found their seats in the sun on an uncharacteristically warm afternoon?
More likely it was the rest the bye week afforded him, the work he put in on his swing behind the scenes and the private conversations between the manager and his slugger. But regardless, Schneider had a good feeling that this could be the day Guerrero Jr. broke out of his late-season slump and authored his first-ever statement post-season performance.
“I’ve seen Vlad long enough,” Schneider said. “When you know it looks pretty close to being right, you have a lot of confidence in him.”
Between the lines, the results backed that confidence as Guerrero Jr. went 3-for-4 with a home run and a sacrifice fly to drive in two on the way to a 10-1 Blue Jays win. The performance gave both Schneider and Guerrero Jr. their first-ever playoff wins, and along the way, Guerrero Jr. doubled his career post-season hit total from three to six.
It’s step one of many in what the Blue Jays hope will be a long journey, but this was meaningful progress.
“My goal always is to win a World Series, to bring the World Series here,” Guerrero Jr. said via interpreter Hector Lebron after the game. “My father (Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero), he never had the chance to win a World Series. That's one of my goals, has always been one of my goals, to do that for me (and) for him.”
The breakout game comes after an uncharacteristically poor finish to the season for Guerrero Jr., whose last regular-season home run was hit nearly a month ago on Sept. 5 at Yankee Stadium. The last two weeks of the regular season were especially quiet for Guerrero Jr., who batted .173 with a .381 OPS and just one extra-base hit over his final 13 games – including some of the highest leverage regular-season games the Blue Jays have played in years.
One day late this week, Schneider talked hitting with Guerrero Jr., sharing his perspective on how opposing teams are pitching him and asking Guerrero Jr. to talk him through what he was working on.
"To hear him articulate what is right when he is right was really encouraging," Schneider said before the game. "There's very simple cues with him. I've seen him hit for 10 years (and) I think he's where he should be mechanically."
From Guerrero Jr.’s perspective, the five-day break between games was meaningful following a year in which he battled a late-season hamstring issue to appear in 156 games and generate 4.5 WAR, as calculated by Baseball-Reference.
“It was more physically (that) I made sure to rest my body, and take care of my body,” Guerrero Jr. said. “I work on my defence regularly (and) my offence, but it was my body that was more important.”
And now?
“Physically I feel great,” Guerrero Jr. said. “Those five days, they were very important.”
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Before Saturday, Guerrero Jr. had appeared in six playoff games, all Blue Jays losses. He had just three hits – a double and two singles – on the way to a .422 OPS.
“Where we are right now in the post-season was big for him today,” Schneider said. “When you think of his time in the big leagues in the post-season, it hasn't been fun for him – or anyone really.”
On Saturday, he was back to being an impact offensive player.
“Just him being himself again,” said centre fielder Daulton Varsho.
“He always raises his game when he plays the Yankees,” said Kevin Gausman. “They definitely boo him and we boo their guys. He's the arch-nemesis for them, I guess. He definitely plays into that. But what a night for him, to hit a home run in the first and then have two other hits. He's the face of our franchise and a big reason why we're here. So it's been nice to see him have the night that he had.”
In the second inning, Guerrero Jr. supported Gausman with a standout defensive play. With the barrel of Ryan McMahon’s bat spinning toward him, Guerrero Jr. caught a line drive before doubling Jazz Chisholm Jr. off first base to end the inning.
As Schneider said: “He was really focused on the task at hand, whether it was in the field or at the plate.”
Of course, one game is just the beginning for Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays. They’ll need much more from him this month to achieve their goals. But after Saturday’s performance, there’s reason for optimism again, not only for Guerrero Jr., but for his entire team.
“When Vlad's locked in,” Schneider said, “It can be contagious.”
