Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is only 23 years old, but that is apparently old enough to be a little bitter.
Speaking this week with Dominican journalist Yancen Pujols, the Toronto Blue Jays slugger offered his big complaint about last season — that he did not receive a single vote for American League MVP.
“I knew I wasn’t going to win the MVP, but it bothered me that they [didn’t] give me a point for first place,” said Guerrero. “I knew [Shohei] Ohtani was going to win it, but not that it would be unanimous.”
In any other year, Guerrero’s numbers of 48 home runs and 111 RBIs on a .311 batting average and a 1.002 OPS might have been enough to win MVP. But unfortunately, Guerrero’s competition was the Los Angeles Angels two-way star Ohtani, who had a once-in-a-lifetime season in 2021. With 46 home runs at the plate and 156 strikeouts on the hill, Ohtani did something that no one had done since Babe Ruth, arguably even exceeding The Bambino’s two-way prowess. Ohtani walked away with all 30 first-place MVP votes, and he deserved every single one of them.
But on the bright side for Guerrero, he is still very young and should be able to put together many more MVP-worthy seasons to come. The All-Star hitter is definitely looking physically motivated to continue unleashing fire and brimstone on MLB pitching as well.
Photo: Feb 17, 2020; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) looks on during spring training at Spectrum Field. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
