Vlad’s peak is still to come

Jays slugger just starting to unlock potential

In their own way, the final two home runs of Vlad Guerrero Jr.’s sensational 2021 season were things of baseball bashing beauty, so much so that the 22-yearold stopped to admire them both.

And why not, given all the first baseman accomplished in his first, full Major League Baseball season with the Toronto Blue Jays?

The first was a 450-foot decimation of the ball on Saturday, a gigantic blast that ricocheted off the windows of the third-deck restaurant in left field at the Rogers Centre.

The second, in Sunday’s 12-4 win over the Orioles in the season finale, was an opposite-field shot to the corner in right, his 48th of the season punctuating one of the greatest slugging seasons in team history.

It’s likely not enough for Guerrero Jr. to win the American League MVP award, but his prodigious numbers are certainly something both to appreciate and inspire optimism going forward.

While allowing that home run No. 45 was one blast that was extra-special because it surpassed the single-season best from his hall-of-fame father, Vlad Sr., Guerrero Jr. said he’ll appreciate the off-season only through a lens of the unfinished business that goes with it.

In no particular order of significance, Guerrero accomplished the following in his breakthrough 2021:

❚ His 48 homers surpassed George Bell (47 in 1987) for the second most in a season in Jays history, trailing only Jose Bautista’s 54 in 2010. He hit 10-plus in each of the Jays three home parks, wowing fans, teammates and opponents with his exit velocity.

❚ The season home run total was historic in that it marked the most by a player aged 22 or younger in MLB history.

❚ The opposite-field shot on Sunday tied him for the MLB home-run lead with the Kansas City Royals’ Salvador Perez. Guerrero’s season-ending batting average of .311 was third best in the American League, emphasizing that the Jays first baseman is more than just a power hitter.

❚ Guerrero teamed with Marcus Semien (45) to become just the sixth pair of teammates in MLB history to hit 45 or more in a season, joining the likes of greats of the past such as Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

❚ As team leader, Guerrero was the driving force in the Mlb-best 262 round-trippers pounded out by the Jays, shattering the club record of 257.

Manager Charlie Montoyo is certainly buoyed by the growth he’s seen from Guerrero Jr. and his contemporary among the Jays’ young stars, Bo Bichette.

“They’re only going to get better,” Montoyo said. “That’s tough to say when someone had an MVP season like Vlad did.”