With months of speculation ahead for the Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as he prepares to enter free agency following the 2025 season, the star slugger appears to have put some long-standing speculation to rest.
Guerrero disclosed on Saturday what sparked his alleged hatred toward the New York Yankees.
No, it’s nothing to do with the Bronx Bombers playing in the Blue Jays division and frequently outperforming the boys in blue; it’s about how they treated his father, Hall of Famer Vlad Guerrero Sr., during his free agency years ago.
In 2003, as the elder Guerrero was about to enter free agency after eight seasons with the Montreal Expos, the Yankees were said to be “down the road” in negotiations with the future Hall of Famer, before team owner George Steinbrenner and former Yankee Dwight Gooden met with Gooden’s nephew, Gary Sheffield.
The franchise then modified its plans and signed Sheffield instead of Guerrero, who went on to join the Angels. While Vlad Sr. exacted some personal revenge on the Yankees in his first season in Anaheim by winning the AL MVP award, Vladdy Jr., who was three years old at the time, has used the snub as motivation.