Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is living up to his reputation as a Yankee killer — and then some.
Through two games in the ALDS, the Toronto Blue Jays’ biggest slugger is 6-for-9 (.667) with two home runs, six RBI and a 1.933 OPS.
His grand slam in Toronto’s 13-7 win in Game 2 was the first in Blue Jays postseason history.
Guerrero’s offensive excellence is among the main reasons the Yankees are down 0-2 in the best-of-five series and enter Tuesday night’s Game 3 in the Bronx on the brink of elimination.
“My emotions are neutral right now,” Guerrero said Monday during a workout at Yankee Stadium. “It’s not time to celebrate. It’s not time to put your head down. It’s not over. There’s a lot of work to do still.”
Guerrero’s torrid start to the season has further elevated his status as a Yankees nemesis.
The 26-year-old famously declared a few years ago that he would never play for the Yankees, saying his reasoning “goes back with my family.”
Many believe the animosity stems from late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner signing Gary Sheffield instead of the elder Vladimir Guerrero — Vlad Jr.’s father — before the 2004 season, despite Guerrero reaching an agreement with general manager Brian Cashman.
The younger Guerrero softened his stance in 2024, expressing an openness to being traded to the Yankees. That possibility is now moot, however, as Guerrero signed a 14-year, $500 million contract extension with the Blue Jays in April.
Still, questions about that history remain. Coming into the ALDS, Guerrero downplayed the notion that facing the Yankees is “personal” for him.
“To any team, it’s personal for me,” Guerrero said. “Same thing with all the teams.”
Much less subtle is the way Guerrero hits against the Yankees.
In his seven-year career, Guerrero has batted .302 with 22 home runs, 74 RBI and a .918 OPS in 102 regular season games against the Yankees.
His solo homer in the first inning of Saturday’s ALDS Game 1 accounted for the first of 23 runs scored by the Blue Jays over the weekend, which set the Yankees’ franchise record for runs allowed over a two-game span in the playoffs.
Guerrero had three hits, including a homer, in each of the first two games.
“He’s hit a couple balls out of the ballpark but also shown his bat-to-ball skills, where he can kind of spray it around the yard, too,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday. “He’s certainly hurt us so far, and hopefully we can contain that a little bit [in Game 3].”
Guerrero has been an even bigger force at Yankee Stadium in his career, hitting .308 with 16 homers and a 1.002 OPS in 48 games.
Even he can’t quite explain his extreme success in the Bronx.
“To be honest with you, I don’t know [why],” Guerrero said Monday. “I don’t know. I’ve been asked that question many times, and I always just say I feel good.”
Guerrero, a five-time All-Star and the 2021 AL MVP runner-up, delivered a somewhat muted 2025 season, at least by his lofty standards. He batted .292 with 23 home runs, 84 RBI and an .848 OPS in 156 regular season games.
Guerrero entered the postseason on a 21-game home run drought, and he managed only three hits — all singles — in the final six games of the regular season.
But Guerrero, who was born in Montreal while his father was on the Expos, caught fire as soon as the playoffs started, leading Canada’s only active MLB team to its first playoff wins since 2016.
“Vlad has been dealing with some level of awe or superstardom from when he was a teenager,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Monday. “I remember fans chasing our bus down the road in Double-A, wanting his autograph or Bo [Bichette’s] autograph. He’s been dealing with this for a long time, and he’s gotten really, really good at handling it.”
Schneider continued, “When he signed his extension, I think he understood that with that comes a little bit of extra responsibility to the organization, to the city, to the country, and he’s really tackled that head on.”
