The anticipated debut of Vlad Guerrero Jr.

Zach Quinn, Staff Writer

Over the weekend, we finally got to see the the other Guerrero make his anticipated debut against the Oakland A’s as baseball’s number 1 overall prospect arrived in Toronto for his first major league game.

The anticipated debut of Vlad Jr. on Friday April 26th began as an ordinary day for all fans around the world. But after his first game, it was apparent that he belongs in this league.

Lots of reporters have been talking about Vlad Jr. since he signed with the Blue Jays in the summer of 2015. As a 16 year old, getting paid $3.9 million dollars to play baseball is a big deal. Luckily, Vlad Jr. has been around baseball and money for his whole life, so not only is this nothing new, he’s not playing for the money.

Baseball is something the Guerrero’s have been around for a long long time. His dad, Vlad Sr., played a total of 16 years in the MLB, and 8 of those years were spent with the Montreal Expos. Among the Toronto Blue Jays, which his son Vlad Jr. is currently playing for, Vlad Sr is a well known name.  His son is looking to one day be in the same conversations as his dad and leave his legacy as a Blue Jay. In fact, the 20 year old Vlad Jr, showed up in his dad’s old Montreal Expos jersey with cameras all over him as he walked into the clubhouse for his first major league game.

In his first Major League at bat, Vlad Jr. walked up to the plate with one of the best and most popular walkup songs this year: “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X. He got a standing ovation from the crowd as they stood, cheering him on hoping for a hit in his first at bat. Vlad Jr. lined a ground ball right at the first baseman and got out, but this was a sign of how hard he can hit the ball.

Facing a 3-1 count in his second at bat, Vlad Jr. took a big daddy hack and sent the ball over the head of left fielder Chad Pinder. The crowd buzzed with anticipation, as the ball carried toward the fence, only to see Pinder reel in the ball with a leaping grab to rob Vlad Jr. of extra bases.

On a 1-0 count in the 6th inning of his third at bat, pitcher Mike Fiers hung a curveball, which Vlad Jr. sent to right field. He barely missed out on a dinger for the second time that night as he got just under the ball, resulting in him hitting a towering fly ball for a loud out.

In the 9th inning of a tied game at 2-2, Vlad Jr. ripped a 2-2 fastball down the first baseline for a double to get the rally started. His first career hit couldn’t have come at a better time. He got taken out for a pinch runner and later that inning, teammate Brandon Drury hit a walk-off homerun to win the game. It wasn’t the most memorable debut, but they got the win, and he has more games to prove his worth this season.