Toronto Blue Jays celebrity Vladimir Guerrero Jr. apologized on Friday for comments he made relating to his contract and what it’s the staff is anticipating from him.
Guerrero Jr. drew criticism earlier this week for saying that when the Blue Jays gave him a 14-year, $500 million contract extension, that it was not for what he was going to do subsequent, however what he had already achieved for the staff.
He then doubled-down on the remark after the Blue Jays have been mathematically eradicated from playoff rivalry.
The feedback drew much more intense criticism as a result of his first season after signing the deal has been, by far, the worst season of his profession.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. apologizes for contract feedback
Guerrero Jr. mentioned on Friday that his father, Corridor of Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, advised him his feedback have been a mistake and that he wanted to apologize and attempt to make issues proper between his teammates and followers.
“I really feel that the feedback I made the opposite day just isn’t what I actually wished to say,” Guerrero mentioned by way of staff interpreter Hector Lebron. “Everybody deserves an apology from me. … I need to inform everybody that I’m going to proceed to maintain working laborious to make my contract an excellent one.”
The issue with the feedback is that he performed into the damaging notion that followers can generally have relating to gamers that get an enormous payday. There’s a perception (even when unfounded) that gamers will lose a few of their starvation and want and easily not attempt as laborious as a result of they’ve the assured cash rolling in.
No one is definitely accusing Guerrero Jr. of doing that, however the optics of all the scenario will not be nice, and generally that carries extra weight than actuality. Even when it is unfair.
Guerrero Jr. was additionally merely improper about what the expectations have been, and are, for the contract. No staff operates beneath the concept big-money contracts are for what a participant already did. The Blue Jays did not pay Guerrero Jr. for the whole lot he did between the 2019 and 2025 seasons. They’re paying for him to be a franchise participant for the following decade-plus.
The 2026 season has not solely been a irritating one for Guerrero Jr., nevertheless it has additionally been objectively the worst season of his profession. He wants an enormous bounce again subsequent season. Not solely to assist the Blue Jays get again into the playoffs and change into a World Collection contender once more, but additionally to show to followers that he can nonetheless be the elite participant the Blue Jays are paying him to be.
