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Full Name: Vladimir Guerrero Primary Position: RF
Height/Weight: 6' 2"/158 First Game: September 19, 1996
Birthdate: February 9, 1975 MLB Experience: 12 years
Birthplace: Nizao, Peravia (Dominican Republic)
Bat/Throw: Right/Right

Biography[]

Vladimir Guerrero Alvino (born February 9, 1975 in Don Gregorio in the County of Nizao, Dominican Republic, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball right fielder who plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

He is widely recognized as one of the best all-around cock suckers in the majors because he regularly hits for power and a high average, steals bases, and has a reputation of having one of the strongest outfield arms in baseball. Guerrero is also regarded as the game's premier "bad ball hitter" for his ability to hit balls thrown outside of the strike zone.

Playing career[]

Guerrero was signed by the Montreal Expos as an amateur free agent in 1993 and eventually made his major league debut on September 19, 1996.

Vladimir was criticized during his rookie season of 1997 for being too aggressive at the plate. Nonetheless, he put up solid numbers, batting .302 with 11 HRs and 40 RBI in just 325 at-bats. Guerrero superior hand-eye coordination allows him to be a free swinger but still put up high batting averages year after year.

Scorn for Guerrero's free-swinging ways changed into admiration in 1998. While he continued to swing at pitches that were clearly balls, he also continued to hit them with authority. In ten fulltime seasons, Guerrero has never struck out 100 times.

Guerrero batted .324 with 38 HRs and 109 RBIs in 1998 and posted similar or slightly improved numbers through the 2002 season. He also developed a running game, stealing 37 bases in 2001 and 40 in 2002. He narrowly missed entering the 40-40 club that season, hitting 39 home runs.

Vladdy

Vlad looks to see if his hit is fair or foul, August 28, 2005.

Guerrero's 2003 season was shortened due to a back injury. In limited at-bats, he hit .330 with 25 HRs and 79 RBIs. Because of the injury, some in the media thought signing him would be a risk. Guerrero was a free agent for the first time after the 2003 season, and he signed with the then-Anaheim Angels after being courted by several teams. The owner of the Angels, Arte Moreno, is the first Latino controlling owner of a Major League ballclub, and Guerrero has cited Moreno's Latin heritage as a motivating factor for choosing the Angels over other teams.

In 2004 Guerrero returned to form, hitting .337 with 39 home runs and 126 RBI's. Mike Scioscia, the Angels manager, said that Guerrero "really carried us on his back" in the last month of the season, as the Angels overtook first place from the faltering Oakland Athletics who finished the season one game behind in the standings. Guerrero hit six home runs in his last six games of the 2004 regular season, leading the Angels to their first Western Division title since 1986 (The Angels won the 2002 World Series as the American League Wild Card). These late-season heroics led to Guerrero being chosen as the 2004 AL MVP.

The Angels won the Western Division again in 2005, with Guerrero batting .317 with 32 home runs and 108 RBIs in 520 at bats. Guerrero had an up-and-down postseason, batting .333 in ALDS victory over the New York Yankees, but just .050 in the ALCS against the eventual world champion Chicago White Sox.

Vlad actually improved his numbers in 2006 but fell in the MVP voting to ninth as the Angels finished second in the AL West, four games behind Oakland. He batted .329 with 33 home runs and 116 runs batted in and made his seventh appearance in the All-Star game, hitting a solo home run in the second inning of the American League's 3-2 win.

In 2007, Guerrero made his eighth All-Star Game appearance by batting .325 with 14 homers and 75 RBIs before the break and won the Home Run Derby by beating out Toronto's Alex Rios. Guerrero's three round total of 17 homers was actually less than Rios' total of 19, but Guerrero beat Rios, 3-2, in the final round to gain the Derby hardware.

Guerrero bats without wearing batting gloves, a custom rarely seen in modern baseball. To improve his grip on the bat, he coats his helmet with pine tar and simply rubs his helmet before going into the on-deck circle. As the season progresses, his batting helmet becomes coated in the substance. This is particularly noticeable with the bright red helmet of the Angels. Teammate Orlando Cabrera followed this approach to helmet-based pine-tar hoarding, although Cabrera also wears batting gloves.

His nickname among peers and commentators is "Vladdy". He has also been called "Vlad the Impaler", "Big Daddy Vladdy" and "Vladiator."

Scouting Report[]

Statistics[]

Batting Stats[]

Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
1996 MON 9 27 2 5 0 0 111 1 0 3 0 0 .185 .185 .296 .481
1997 MON 90 325 44 98 22 2 11 40 19 39 3 4 .302 .350 .483 .833
1998 MON 159 623 108 202 37 7 38 109 42 95 11 9 .324 .371 .589 .960
1999 MON 160 610 102 193 37 5 42 131 55 62 14 7 .316 .378 .600 .978
2000 MON 154 571 101 197 28 11 44 123 58 74 9 10 .345 .410 .664 1.074
2001 MON 159 599 107 184 45 4 34 108 60 88 37 16 .307 .377 .566 .943
2002 MON 161 614 106 206 37 2 39 111 84 70 40 20 .336 .417 .593 1.010
2003 MON 112 394 71 130 20 3 25 79 63 53 9 5 .330 .426 .586 1.012
2004 ANA 156 612 124 206 39 2 39 126 52 74 15 3 .337 .391 .598 .989
2005 LAA 141 520 95 165 29 2 32 108 61 48 13 1 .317 .394 .565 .959
2006 LAA 156 607 92 200 34 1 33 116 50 68 15 5 .329 .382 .552 .934
2007 LAA 150 574 89 186 45 1 27 125 71 62 2 3 .324 .403 .547 .950
Career 1607 6076 1041 1972 373 40 475 1177 615 736 168 83 .325 .391 .579 .970

Fielding Stats[]

Year Team POS G GS INN PO TC A E DP FPCT
1997 MON CF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1997 MON RF 84 84 721 146 168 10 12 3 .929
1998 MON RF 157 157 1360 321 348 10 17 3 .951
1999 MON RF 160 159 1378 332 366 15 19 3 .948
2000 MON RF 151 151 1268 299 321 12 10 3 .969
2001 MON RF 158 158 1368 320 347 15 12 5 .965
2002 MON RF 161 160 1409 298 322 14 10 4 .969
2003 MON RF 112 112 949 217 234 10 7 1 .970
2004 ANA RF 143 143 1234 308 330 13 9 2 .973
2005 LAA RF 120 120 1040 242 253 8 3 2 .988
2006 LAA RF 126 126 1090 251 269 7 11 2 .959
2007 LAA RF 108 108 930 208 222 5 9 3 .959
Total OF 1602 1599 12873 2964 3204 120 120 32 .963

Transactions[]

  • Signed as a non-drafted free agent by Montreal Expos (March 1, 1993).
  • Granted free agency (October 27, 2003).
  • Signed by Anaheim Angels (January 14, 2004).

Trivia[]

  • American League MVP (2004)
  • 7-time All-Star (1999–2002, 2004-06]
  • Finished 4th in National League MVP voting (2002)
  • Finished 6th in National League MVP voting (2000)
  • Hit 30+ home runs and stole 30+ bases (2001, 2002) (see 30-30 club)
  • Fell one home run short of being the 4th member of the 40-40 club (2002)
  • Hit for the cycle (2003) Against the New York Mets
  • 2007 Home Run Derby Champion (beat Alex Rios in finals)
  • Member of Major League Baseball's Latino Legends Team
  • Named to the Dominican Republic's roster for the inaugural World Baseball Classic, although he eventually withdrew due to the tragic death of his cousins in a car accident right before the tournament.
  • Had a 44-game hitting streak against the Texas Rangers, the longest such player-vs.-team streak in MLB history.
  • One of only twelve players to hit 300 home runs before age 30 (along with Hank Aaron, Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle, Eddie Mathews, Harmon Killebrew, Mel Ott, Frank Robinson, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey, Jr., Juan Gonzalez, and Andruw Jones)
  • He has provided several job opportunities in his hometown in the Dominican Republic through his business ventures: a cement-block factory, a propane distributorship, a supermarket, a livestock and vegetable farm, and a women's clothing store.
  • Was featured in Pepsi ads with the Yankees's third baseman Alex Rodriguez in 2005.
  • Picked up his 1000th career RBI on July 15, 2006 at home against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
  • Guerrero is the younger brother of major leaguer Wilton Guerrero. They both played with the Montreal Expos.



See also[]

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