SUNNY FUTURES
VLADIMIR GUERRERO JR. HAD BARELY STEPPED INTO THE BACK CORNER CONFERENCE ROOM OF TAMPA’S FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON SUITES HOTEL WHEN SOMEONE IN THE ROOM ANNOUNCED, “VLAD JR. IS IN THE HOUSE!” And with that, even several of the other prospects signing their autographs for Panini as part of the
Florida leg of the company’s annual Spring Training Road Trip, looked up.
Everybody knows Vlad Jr.
Before he sat down to sign a little more than 1,000 cards, Junior worked the room a little. He spoke to Yankees pitcher Domingo Acevedo. He introduced himself to Tigers pitcher Matt Manning – and those two should have some epic confrontations in the big leagues soon – and then shook hands with Estevan Florial, ranked the No. 1 prospect in the Yankees’ organization by Baseball America.
And then Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got down to the business of signing his cards.
At the Tampa stop in late March, more than 20 players signed cards and other items for future Panini products.
“ is event seems to grow every year,” Panini’s Tracy Hackler said. “It benefits our products all year, and we look at the Panini Spring Training Road Trip as a marquee event for us, and our product development team structures their calendar around this. We’ve tried to get more on-card autographs, and this event helps us get that.”
Guerrero Jr. just turned 20 in March, but he’s already caught on to the nuances of being both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America’s No. 1 prospect in baseball. He understands, if not fully embraces, the hype that comes from the fact that he batted .402 with a .449 On-Base Percentage at Double-A last season. at went with 14 HR and 60 RBI in 266 plate appearances, which included almost as many walks as strikeouts.
Now it’s just a matter of time before he reaches the highest level. And that should be quick.
BSCM: Did you ever get tired of hearing if you were going to get called up? You had a year and a half of that.
CHRISTIN STEWART: “That was just stuff I couldn’t control. I gave effort everyday out there with my teammates trying to win. I tried to kind of distance myself from some of that stuff, the talk, because at the end of the day I still had to go out and perform.”
BSCM: What about your two-home run game?
CS: “Oh, yeah, that was a day I’ll never forget. I hit the first one in my first at-bat and I was thinking, ‘Dang, I finally got it [first MLB HR] out of the way.’ And then I hit one in my second at-bat. That was surreal. That whole day was just a blur after the game. I was so amped up.” BSCM: Did you get the balls back?
CS: “Yeah, the Tigers took care of the fans who caught the balls, gave them gift bags. I met them after the game, signed a few things and took a few pictures with them and I got the balls back. It was really cool.”
BSCM: How did USA Baseball help set you up for being a professional?
CS: “With USA Baseball, that was pretty awesome. I got to play in Cuba and The Netherlands. And I played with some amazing players. Just being around those guys and seeing what they did to get ready for the games – their approach. It was a great experience. It was great playing with those guys and the coaches we had were awesome. That was my first time being out of the country.”
BSCM: What were you doing last year when you learned you had been called up to Detroit?
CS: “We had just lost in the playoffs at Triple-A in Durham. After the game me and a couple other guys got called into our manager’s [Doug Mientkiewicz] office. Doug shook my hand and told me congratulations, I was going to Detroit. It was amazing.”
BSCM: Any kind of rookie hazing after your call-up?
CS: “We dressed as Oompa Loompas from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Some of the older guys got a makeup artist to come to the field. We had the suits and we were all orange with green wigs. So we went to Minnesota dressed like that and then on the bus, about five blocks from the hotel the veterans had the bus driver stop the bus and we walked to our hotel around downtown Minneapolis as Oompa Loompas.”
BSCM: How has your autograph changed from age 15 to now?
VLADIMIR GUERRERO JR.: “It’s the same autograph, I’m just getting used to signing and I’ve gotten quicker.”
BSCM: How much has your life changed in the last two years?
VGJ: “It’s been basically the same. I’ve been playing a lot of ball and spending time with my family. So it hasn’t really changed much.”
BSCM: Does all this attention ever get to be too much? VGJ: “I just put my focus on playing ball and continue to work to be the best I can be.”
BSCM: But aren’t you more recognized now than even a year ago?
VGJ: “More people do recognize me, so yes, I guess I’m getting well known.”
BSCM: What improvements do you think you need to make before the big leagues?
VGJ: “Nothing, really. Everything is fine and it’s working for me so I don’t really feel like I want to change
anything.”
BSCM: Is plate discipline something you learned early playing ball?
VGJ: “As a kid I was always disciplined and I’m just doing the same thing at the plate that I’ve always done playing ball. I think I’ve always had good discipline at the plate.”
BSCM: Have you ever consciously tried to pattern your game after your father?
VGJ: “No, the only thing I’ve tried to copy - to emulate - is hard work. That’s really it. But I think that is one of the best things I could take from him.”
BSCM: You were at your dad’s HOF induction in Cooper
stown last summer. What were your thoughts that day?
VGJ: “Just very proud. It was an honor for our entire family. We all enjoyed it and it was great to be there to see it.”
BSCM: Did you collect cards growing up?
VGJ: “Yeah, when I was a kid whenever I went to the store I would get 2-3 packs, go through them and save them.”
BSCM: Did you collect any of your father’s cards?
VGJ: “I did have a few. But by then he had so many cards [out] already.”
BSCM: Are you going to collect your own cards?
VGJ: “I’ve got a huge collection now, but I’ll still continue collecting my cards.” BSCM: Favorite player growing up?
VGJ: “Adrian Beltre.”
BSCM: Best advice you’ve gotten as a ballplayer?
VGJ: “Everything my father has told me – what to do and what not to do. Best advice I could ever get.”
BSCM: Do you ever talk about your games with your dad?
VGJ: “No, not anymore. We don’t discuss baseball or my career. We really just talk about family.”
BSCM: Is there anything with your game you want to fine-tune before your call-up to Toronto?
VGJ: “I feel I’m ready now. But it’s up to them.”
BSCM: You’re signing a lot of cards here, but you’ve got your signature right down, don’t you.
BO BICHETTE: “Yeah, I’ve got it down now.” BSCM: Has it changed much from high school?
BB: “Yeah, in high school I used to try and write the whole thing but I wasn’t very good at cursive, so I dumbed it down a little bit”
BSCM: Do you remember the first autograph you ever signed? Was it in high school?
BB: “No, to be honest I was about 12. Just because of my family name. People would ask, I guess, just in case. I’m not even sure what the signature looked like. Not sure if I wrote my full name or not.
BSCM: You had a good season last year. What did you learn about your game?
BB: “My thing has always been to just continue to get better. So regardless of the
performance and the numbers I’m still finding ways to get better in every single aspect of the game. For me, a lot of my focus is on the defensive side of the ball and my throwing and kind of shore that up so I can be as steady as I can.”
BSCM: You’re headed to Triple-A to start the season. It’s not out of the question that you could be in Toronto by season’s end, is it?
BB: “Well, they told me to force their hand. And they told me I would dictate when I get up there. Who knows if that’s true, but that’s what I’ll be trying to do.”
BSCM: Has it been a help having Bichette as your last name? BB: “Oh, nothing but a help. My dad’s given me everything, every opportunity. I learned the game a lot quicker than a lot of people get to. Nothing but positives having my dad there helping me. He’s the man.”
BSCM: How old were you when you realized how good a player your dad was?
BB: “To be honest, probably in high school. I remember my dad used to get mad at me because I’d be watching Roy Halladay pitch on TV, and I’d say ‘Dad, there’s no way you could have gotten a hit off him!’ My dad would then pull up the numbers and show me he got a lot of hits off Roy Halladay. I realized he was a big leaguer at a younger age, I guess I just didn’t realize how good of a big leaguer he was until I was in high school.”
BSCM: How are you keeping notoriety in perspective?
BB: “I think it’s been just how I was raised. I don’t really love the spotlight much, and I sometimes get a little uncomfortable when people recognize me in public. I think my parents did a great job in raising me and I’ve been able to keep things in perspective and realize what’s really important and not let that kind of stuff get to my head.”
BSCM: Were you a collector?
BB: “I bought some packs sometimes, but I wasn’t a big collector.”
BSCM: Did you have any of your dad’s cards?
BB: “Oh, yeah. We had boxes. We had a ton of them.”
BSCM: What’s he think of what’s happening with you now? BB: “He’s just super proud of me. I think my parents are more proud of the work I’ve put into it, and not necessarily the results. The hard work I’ve put into it, the motivation and the desire I’ve showed. My mom and dad have been awesome and have given me every chance I’ve had to be a player and I owe a lot to them.”
BSCM: Were you surprised to be ranked the No. 1 prospect in the
Yankees organization?
ESTEVAN FLORIAL: “It’s a nice thing, but I try not to think about it too much. For me, whether you are ranked as a top prospect or not, you still have to go out there and do your job.”
BSCM: But it does bring you a little more notoriety, doesn’t it?
EF: “Absolutely. But like I said, I still have to do the job.”
BSCM: Have you set any goals for yourself this year?
EF: “Overall, get better as a player. Offensively, defensively . . . just get better as a player, better than I was last year.”
BSCM: What improvements have you been working on?
EF: “Last year I think I was chasing so many bad pitches. I learned from that and have an idea of what I have to do to get better. Maturity in the game, just getting better.”
BSCM: From the time before you signed to now, how has your autograph changed?
EF: [Laughing] “A lot. I didn’t have an autograph then, but now I do it every day so I’ve worked on it.”
BSCM: You sign a lot for fans during the season?
EF: “I do, when I have time for it. I like to do it.”
BSCM: Do you collect your own cards?
EF: “If I like the picture on it, I do.”
BSCM: You’re in a great organization, but it seems crowded in that Yankees outfield. How do you best think you can break into that?
EF: “Like you said, it’s a great organization with great ballplayers. I’m grateful for [the opportunity] to be around those guys. There’s nothing I can do about the situation. There is going to be a high expectation for everyone on the team. What I can do is try and do my job every time I’m on the field. That’s what I can do – try and help the team in any way I can. I try not to think about it too much because it’s out of my control.”