Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the youngest all-star MVP, and first in Blue Jays history
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/07/2021 (1590 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s breakout season now includes becoming the youngest all-star game MVP in major league history.
Guerrero is also the first Blue Jay to win the award after he went 1-for-3 with a home run and a pair of RBIs in the American League’s 5-2 victory over the National League in Tuesday night’s midsummer classic in Denver.
The 22-year-old phenom opened the game by nearly decapitating Washington’s Max Scherzer with a 111-m.p.h. liner to second base. The two stars shared a few laughs and hugged it out on the field, but the hard contact was just a tease of what would come two innings later.
In the third, Guerrero sent a 1-and-1 slider from Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes well over the wall in left-centre field. The 468-foot moon shot left his bat at 110 m.p.h. as he became just the second Jays player to homer in the all-star game, joining Roberto Alomar, who went deep at Baltimore’s Camden Yards in 1993.
Ken Griffey Jr. had been the youngest all-star MVP at 22 years and 236 days old. Guerrero did it at 22 years and 119 days.
Vladimir Guerrero Sr. also homered in an all-star game, in 2006. They’re just the third father-son duo to accomplish that feat, joining Griffey Jr. and Sr. along with Barry and Bobby Bonds.
Guerrero entered the break ranked second in the majors with 28 homers, three shy of the franchise record set by Jose Bautista in 2011. He also ranks first in average (.332), on-base percentage (.430), RBIs (73) and on-base plus slugging (1.089) and can be found on the leaderboard of just about every major offensive category.
The Dominican native wasn’t the only Jay to put on a show Tuesday night. Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez doubled in the fifth inning and later scored on an RBI groundout by Guerrero. Second baseman Marcus Semien went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI, while Bo Bichette came off the bench and struck out swinging in his lone plate appearance.
Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca
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