Toronto Blue Jays franchise cornerstone Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made an absurd statement in an interview with Telemicro News. Guerrero, who has the third-biggest contract by overall value in MLB, hasn't played up to his standards this year, hitting just nine homers and posting a .695 OPS, and has just five games to correct his stats before the end of the regular season. The Blue Jays gave Guerrero a $500 million contract ahead of the 2025 season, so his struggles throughout the last six months haven't gone unnoticed.
Despite the underwhelming sophomore season in his 14-year deal, Guerrero defended his play, saying he got paid because of what he had already done, not what he is going to do. "The contract I got was based on what I did, not necessarily for what I'm going to do," Guerrero said. "I understand why the fans believe it's the other way around.
Sometimes I think that way too, like 'oh they give me this money and I'm not doing enough', but you know I try my best and I'm working hard. "The fans I know how they are, when you are doing great they are 100% behind you but when you are not at your best not everybody is behind you, almost nobody supports you. Those are my real fans, the ones that are supporting me all the time." Guerrero, despite causing uproar across social media with his comments on his down season, didn't back down when asked about his comments on Wednesday.
"No, I don't regret myself," Guerrero said, per Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. "I'm not lying with what I say. I understand some fans, they don't understand the way and what I was trying to say specifically, but what I said is the way I feel." He further explained himself and why he chose to say what he did as well.
"That was a quote from the interview when she asked me how I felt about this year," Guerrero said, per MLB.com's Keegan Matheson. "I said that, obviously, I feel really bad about the year that I had, that I couldn't help my team get to the postseason. I said I felt—that it's my personal opinion—that every player gets paid for what they have done.
With that said, you guys have got to remember that I signed my contract at the beginning of last year, then I did put up a good year. Then, the kind of playoffs that I had to help the team get into the World Series. "To the fans, I've never stopped working very hard.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
