This post was originally published on this site.
Toronto Blue Jays star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been outstanding in the postseason.
Guerrero Jr., 26, has a .442 batting average, six home runs and 12 RBI across 51 plate appearances in 11 games. He was named the ALCS MVP for his performance against the Seattle Mariners.
Now, Guerrero is tasked with helping the Blue Jays win four more games and win the World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers to bring a championship to Canada. Game 1 is Friday at 8 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre in Toronto and will be broadcast on FOX.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
“I was born here,” Guerrero said through an interpreter, according to MLB.com. “I grew up in the Dominican, and then from the moment that I signed here, that I knew I was going to be here my entire career, I knew that somehow I had to make all the fans, the entire country, proud of me, of my team. And like I always say, my challenge is to bring the World Series here back to Canada.”
In April, Guerrero signed a 14-year, $500 million contract that cemented him as the face of the franchise. So far in October, Guerrero has lived up to his massive deal.
His six postseason home runs are already tied for the most in franchise history, alongside Joe Carter and José Bautista.
DODGERS, BLUE JAYS ANNOUNCE STARTING PITCHERS FOR GAME 1 OF THE WORLD SERIES
“He’s the face of the franchise,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said, according to MLB.com. “I remember a conversation, it was me and Max (Scherzer). This was back in April in (my office). We talked about, ‘Hey, you’re the standard now for this team’ and what comes with that, how you have to act, how you have to talk. He’s been great. He’s just been very, very aware of everything that’s going on, which is very hard to do when the spotlight is on you.”
Guerrero has not only slugged but also shown off his exceptional bat-to-ball skills this postseason, as he has only struck out three times.
The Blue Jays are going to need their superstar first baseman to be at his best against the Dodgers’ vaunted starting rotation.
The Dodgers’ pitching staff, especially their starting pitching, has been sensational, allowing just 28 runs in 10 postseason games. The team’s elite rotation of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani has carried the load thus far.
Snell is starting Game 1 for the Dodgers while the Blue Jays are starting rookie Trey Yesavage.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
