Like father, like son.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has largely followed in the impressive footsteps of his Hall of Fame father, Vladimir Guerrero, with the impressive start to his MLB career. The latest big step for junior came in winning the 2023 Home Run Derby, hanging on to best Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena in a nail-biting finish.
Though there are plenty of differences in the father/son pairing — Guerrero Sr. being a faster, less patient outfielder while Guerrero Jr. is a slower, incredibly patient first baseman — there are also tons of similarities upon which to draw.
Through their first 403 games, they had each hit 87 home runs, with Vlad Jr. having an OBP of .363 and Vlad Sr. having an OBP of .364. Both players were also incredibly young when they debuted, with Sr. debuting at age 21 and Guerrero reaching the big leagues at 20.
The latest similarity, however, comes in the fact that they can now say they are the only father/son pairing to each be Home Run Derby champions, with Guerrero Jr.’s title coming 16 years after his dad’s 2007 victory.
Let’s get one thing out of the way first: the home run derby has changed a lot. Back when Guerrero Sr. was in the derby, batters could make only 10 outs during a single round. And while there were still eight participants, they did not face off in bracket play, instead just needing to rank among the highest-total performers.
The top four players in the first round moved on to the second, and the two players with the most home runs between the first and second rounds would advance to the finals, where the tallies would reset. A three-swing, swing-off would settle any ties.
The first round wasn’t easy for Guerrero. He got off to a slow start, hitting four outs without a home run on the scoreboard. But Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz delivered a gift bat to Guerrero, which the Angels slugger used to send five home runs over his next six outs to advance to the second round in the San Francisco derby. His five were tied with Alex Rios and Matt Holliday for the most. Albert Pujols edged Justin Morneau in a swing-off with two home runs to one after the pair tied at four each.
In the next round, Guerrero launched nine home runs, second only to Rios’ 12, including a tape-measure 503-foot home run to left. Pujols also hit nine, but because the first- and second-round numbers were added up to create a subtotal, Guerrero had the edge with 14 to Pujols’ 13 to head to the final.
Rios began the final round by hitting only a mere two home runs, setting the stage for Guerrero to take the title. The 32-year-old slugger hit two home runs early and had several of his group rush up to celebrate — including a young Guerrero Jr. — before they realized he was still only tied for the lead. With three outs still left, Guerrero finally sent the walk-off homer, his third of the final round to claim the title.
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