Guerrero Jr. makes Blue Jays history in rare father-son club
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. fuelled the Toronto Blue Jays' 8-0 rout of the New York Yankees, becoming one of only two father-son duos to hit 40 home runs.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made history with the Toronto Blue Jays after homering in an 8-0 demolition of MLB rivals the New York Yankees.
Guerrero Jr. hit his 40th home run of the season as the in-form Blue Jays routed the Yankees on Monday to further boost their Wild Card chances.
The 22-year-old All-Star became the youngest Blue Jays hitter to reach 40 homers in a season and one of just 10 in franchise history, while he and his Hall of Fame father Vladimir Guerrero are one of only two father-son duos to hit 40 home runs, along with Price Fielder and Cecil Fielder.
Montoyo: "He's going to be one of the best players in baseball"
"I have front-row seats to watch this whole season," said Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo, who was a team-mate of Vladimir Guerrero Sr. with double-A Harrisburg in 1996.
"What he's done, that's not easy to do. This guy he's going to be one of the best players in baseball. Actually, he already is and it's been fun to watch somebody that young be that good at the plate."
Guerrero Jr. on a hot streak
Guerrero Jr. is also on a career-high 14-game hit streak with the Blue Jays, who have won five straight games to be three games adrift in the American League (AL) Wild Card race.
The 2021 All-Star boasts a .414 batting average, 1.090 OPS, four homers and nine RBIs during that run.
Guerrero Jr. became the 10th player in MLB history with 40 homers in his age-22 season, and first since Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. in 2019.
"That's amazing," Blue Jays team-mate Marcus Semien said. "I knew when we took BP, it was a good day to hit to right field. He didn't hit on the field but I mentioned that to him. He's so good he did it in his first at-bat. It's something special."
It was also a special outing for Semien against the slumping Yankees in New York, where he launched his 36th and 37th home runs of the season.
Semien delivered a grand slam in the ninth inning as he set the franchise record for most home runs by a middle infielder in a single season.
"For me, when my mechanics and timing are sound, I think I see the ball better and I'm more confident," Semien said. "I'm seeing that with everybody in the cage when they work. This time of year, you really get a good feel for what you're doing. You see the results."