Did Blue Jays 3B coach Carlos Febles cost Vladimir Guerrero Jr the second postseason cycle in MLB History?
Photo credit: John Froschauer-Imagn Images
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr was very close to hitting for only the second postseason cycle in MLB history on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Park.
In Game 3 of the ALCS the Blue Jays showed up and out in a big way trouncing the Seattle Mariners in their backyard 13-4, with the face of the franchise leading by example.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr's fourth home run of the postseason soared out to dead center, almost teasing Julio Rodriguez with how long it hung up in the air before falling an inch beyond his glove.
The Blue Jays have awoken. Now, it's Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s turn. His 4th home run of the postseason puts them up, 7-2.
This tied him with José Bautista (2015) for the most home runs in a single postseason in franchise history, but if the Blue Jays are going to make a series of this, Bautista won't own a share of that for long.
«I feel great,» Guerrero said, then repeated what we all knew was coming next, «but my focus is only on winning. I want to win.»
That home run was not when Guerrero woke up, though. Vladdy jolted back to life two innings prior, in the third, when he ripped a double off the left-field wall as part of the five-run inning that pulled this series out of the ditch.
Standing on second base, Guerrero slammed his hands together and gestured to his dugout twice, yelling «Vamos! Vamos!» He wasn't just celebrating with his teammates, he was demanding more from them. They listened.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr a triple away from hitting only the second postseason cycle in MLB history
Former Hall of Famer and Fox Sports analyst Derek Jeter asked Vlad Jr why he stopped at second base with a historic postseason cycle on the line.
«I just looked at the third-base coach and he stopped me and you know, you have to listen to your coach,» Guerrero said, grinning as he spoke to Derek Jeter on the postgame show. «To me, when I hit it, I was just trying to go to third when I looked to third and [Carlos] Febles stopped me.»
Jeter laughed and had some advice for the young slugger:
«Next time blink and tell him you didn't see him»
Derek Jeter has some advice for Vladimir Guerrero Jr the next time he's a triple away from the cycle 😂
Derek Jeter has some advice for Vladimir Guerrero Jr the next time he's a triple away from the cycle 😂
Vlad Jr's teammates were waving him on from the dugout and were stunned when he stopped at second base.
Up 12-2 VLADIMIR GUERRERO JR absolutely should've gone for the triple to complete the cycle
Right or wrong, Vladdy's base running has haunted him in past postseason games, so it was probably for the best that he didn't ignore third-base coach Carlos Febles stop sign.
And the fact that he stated that you "always have to listen to your coaches", shows that the 26-year old is getting wiser with every postseason game he plays.
Not going to lie though, a cycle would have been the icing on the cake.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had his fourth hit of the night. Looks like he might have had a chance at the second cycle in MLB postseason history
Source: MLB.com
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