Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits 450-foot homer that might have been longer
ST. PETERSBURG — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. may have been slighted.
In the sixth inning of Thursday’s opener against the Rays at Tropicana Field, the Blue Jays slugger hammered a ball off Zach Eflin that sailed over top of the batter’s eye in centerfield. Statcast estimated that it traveled a distance of 450 feet.
Watching from the Toronto dugout, manager John Schneider thought it went a lot farther.
“I thought it was more than 450,” he said. “I don’t know if Statcast got that right.”
Guerrero agreed, saying the homer felt longer coming off his bat. But then he shrugged and laughed.
“After 400 feet, hey, it’s all good,” he said through Blue Jays translater Hector Lebron. “It’s all the same to me.”
The home run, Guerrero’s first on opening day, was part of a five-run inning for the Blue Jays and the exclamation point on their 8-2 win.
“It felt good. I mean, you work hard for the entire season. Not just one game,” Guerrero said. “For me, this game is over. Let’s get to the next one.”
Still, for Schneider and the Blue Jays, it was a very good sign.
The team has a core of talented young players, including Guerrero, who have yet to live up to their vast potential. Last season ended in disaster when the Blue Jays were swept by the Twins in the American League wild-card round, limited to just one run over 18 innings.
With Guerrero coming off a down year offensively, the Blue Jays tweaked their lineup this season in an attempt to find more power up top.
So, instead of putting the slugger who hit 48 home runs in 2021 third in their order, they moved him up a spot to second. With Guerrero batting behind George Springer, Bo Bichette moved into the No. 3 spot.
Guerrero said he wasn’t given a specific reason for the switch but was fine with it.
“I’ll hit wherever they put me,” he said.
Thursday, he did just that.
His home run had an exit velocity of 111.8 mph and got over the outfield fence so fast no one even moved to try and catch it.
“That was a no-doubter,” Schneider said.
The Blue Jays seemed to get their lineup right. The top three hitters provided some much-needed offense, with Bichette hitting a two-run double, and Guerrero and Springer both going deep.
“Those guys can do it. You know what I mean?” Schneider said. “I think it’s just a matter of really talking about it and then them really buying in and doing it.”
But what was most encouraging to Schneider wasn’t the power show but how the Blue Jays got to that point.
Rays right-hander Zach Eflin retired Toronto’s hitters in order his first time through the lineup. The second time, though, Springer (in the fourth) and No. 9 hitter Cavan Biggio (in the sixth) homered. Guerrero hit his monster blast in his third at-bat.
“(Eflin) got me the first two times,” Guerrero said. “But I said, ‘That’s OK, just stick with the plan. Let’s just do it again.’”
Guerrero had a down season in 2023, admitting he let early struggles too often get into his head. He hit just 26 homers and had his lowest OPS (.788) since his rookie season.
He focused on rebuilding his confidence this spring and hit .463 with three home runs and a 1.218 OPS.
“I was just really encouraged by his swings,” Schneider said. “The first time through, it’s opening day, and everyone’s probably a little bit amped up. But even this last at-bat (a sharp fly out to centerfield), I mean, those are the swings we’re looking for. He was he was on (Thursday).”
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