Best Blue Jay ever? Vlad's contract spurs debate
Photo credit: https://www.cbc.ca
It's been a wild 24 hours for the Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Now that the first baseman is locked down for the next decade and a half, debates are already starting as to where Vlad ranks in the pantheon of Blue Jays players. Will he be the greatest ever to put on the uniform?
Discussing whether someone is the greatest, the conversation always come down to peak versus sustained success. Jose Bautista had a great former, but flattened out his last couple years with the team.
The mountaintop of Blue Jays greats starts with Roy Halladay and Dave Stieb both had WAR over 40 and were more than just peak players. But it's difficult to compare a 1st baseman to pitchers.
The most apt player to compare Guerrero to is Carlos Delgado, who currently holds the franchise record for home runs with 336. With Guerrero already at 160. this is a record that easily attainable. Ditto for his RBI total.
Guerrero is also within reach of Tony Fernandez' records for hits and total games played, and is already nearly halfway to Bautista's WAR of 38.4, tops for Jays position players.
Each of these greats also had their signature moments. While Guerrero has yet to have a post-season batflip, or four home runs in a game, his walk-off home run in a Montreal pre-season game as a teenager is still seared in the memories of many.
Vlad has the next 14 years to re-write the Blue Jays record books and create his own legacy. He is still only 26, and his prime years are ahead of him.
While it may be too early to officially crown as Toronto's GOAT, he is well on his way to claiming that title.
We'll find out soon enough.
SOURCE - Keegan Matheson for MLB.com
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 8 | 88 ANSWERS Best Blue Jay ever? Vlad's contract spurs debate Will Vladdy be the greatest Blue Jay of all time | ||
| Yes, he already is | 16 | 18.2 % |
| He needs to break a few more records first | 46 | 52.3 % |
| no, not even top 10 | 11 | 12.5 % |
| give it time | 15 | 17 % |
| List of polls | ||
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