This offseason, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said he would never sign with the Yankees. Even (his words) if he were “dead.”
The Toronto Blue Jays star had to assume he would get an unwelcome response when facing the AL East rivals in the Bronx. And boy did he ever.
He doubled down on his statement Friday.
“It’s a personal thing,” he said via interpreter Hector Lebron. “It goes back with my family. That’s my decision and I will never change that.”
If that double-down didn’t solidify, the home run on Sunday followed certainly did. In the top of the sixth inning of the 5-1 win, Guerrero Jr. hit his fifth home run of the season. He swore he didn’t hear the boos as he approached the plate, but if he did, it didn’t matter.
He’s got the POP and he wants the SMOKE 💥 #PLAKATA pic.twitter.com/tZJfE2i8MY
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 23, 2023
After hitting the home run, he shushed the Yankees fans in attendance while rounding the bases. This only led to more boos from the crowd.
He discussed the moment after the game, saying that the crowd “wouldn’t take the home run away” from him.
“Of course you listen to that,” Guerrero told media, including MLB.com, “but they’re not going to take that home run away from me. I’ll just run the bases and enjoy it.”
His manager, John Schneider, referred to Mr. October when asked about Yankee fans offering boos to the two-time All-Star.
“That was a huge series from him,” said manager John Schneider. “You get here, you get booed and you can do one of two things. Reggie Jackson said they don’t boo nobodies.”
The Blue Jays’ win resulted in the Yankees’ first series loss of the season.
About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.