Like father, like son.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has largely followed in the impressive footsteps of his Hall of Fame father, Vladimir Guerrero, with the impressive start to his MLB career. The latest big step for junior came in winning the 2023 Home Run Derby, hanging on to best Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena in a nail-biting finish.
Though there are plenty of differences in the father/son pairing — Guerrero Sr. being a faster, less patient outfielder while Guerrero Jr. is a slower, incredibly patient first baseman — there are also tons of similarities upon which to draw.
Through their first 403 games, they had each hit 87 home runs, with Vlad Jr. having an OBP of .363 and Vlad Sr. having an OBP of .364. Both players were also incredibly young when they debuted, with Sr. debuting at age 21 and Guerrero reaching the big leagues at 20.
The latest similarity, however, comes in the fact that they can now say they are the only father/son pairing to each be Home Run Derby champions, with Guerrero Jr.’s title coming 16 years after his dad’s 2007 victory.
MORE: Results, highlights from 2023 Home Run Derby
How do the two derby performances compare? Here’s what you need to know.
Vladimir Guerrero Sr. home run derby
Let’s get one thing out of the way first: the home run derby has changed a lot. Back when Guerrero Sr. was in the derby, batters could make only 10 outs during a single round. And while there were still eight participants, they did not face off in bracket play, instead just needing to rank among the highest-total performers.
The top four players in the first round moved on to the second, and the two players with the most home runs between the first and second rounds would advance to the finals, where the tallies would reset. A three-swing, swing-off would settle any ties.
The first round wasn’t easy for Guerrero. He got off to a slow start, hitting four outs without a home run on the scoreboard. But Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz delivered a gift bat to Guerrero, which the Angels slugger used to send five home runs over his next six outs to advance to the second round in the San Francisco derby. His five were tied with Alex Rios and Matt Holliday for the most. Albert Pujols edged Justin Morneau in a swing-off with two home runs to one after the pair tied at four each.
In the next round, Guerrero launched nine home runs, second only to Rios’ 12, including a tape-measure 503-foot home run to left. Pujols also hit nine, but because the first- and second-round numbers were added up to create a subtotal, Guerrero had the edge with 14 to Pujols’ 13 to head to the final.
Rios began the final round by hitting only a mere two home runs, setting the stage for Guerrero to take the title. The 32-year-old slugger hit two home runs early and had several of his group rush up to celebrate — including a young Guerrero Jr. — before they realized he was still only tied for the lead. With three outs still left, Guerrero finally sent the walk-off homer, his third of the final round to claim the title.
MORE: Home Run Derby records
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. home run derby
It was not long until another Guerrero became the derby champion, though it didn’t happen on the first try.
Guerrero Jr. was invited to the 2019 Home Run Derby and entered as the No. 8 seed, immediately dispatching No. 1 seed Matt Chapman with an impressive 29-homer barrage in the first round. He followed that up by out-lasting Joc Pederson in a legendary swing-off, with Guerrero ultimately winning 40-39, setting a then-record for the most home runs in a single round.
However, Mets first baseman Pete Alonso took advantage of an exhausted Guerrero, who had to bat first in the final, and edged him 23-22.
Heading into the 2023 Home Run Derby, Guerrero was not quite the favorite, but he was the third-most likely player to bet on winning the whole thing, behind only Alonso and No. 1 seed Luis Robert, despite entering as the No. 6 seed.
Guerrero came out strong. Batting ahead of No. 3 Mookie Betts, Guerrero walloped an impressive 26 home runs, with three of the blasts exceeding the 440-foot mark needed to earn him bonus time. His first home run traveled 453 feet with an exit velocity of 111 mph. Betts mustered a derby-low 11 home runs in the round.
The second round appeared to be a challenge on paper for Guerrero. Julio Rodriguez, the hometown favorite, had just surpassed Guerrero’s single-round record of 40 homers with 41 to easily get past Alonso (21) in the first round.
But Rodriguez was clearly feeling the fatigue of the first round, and hit only 20 long balls to set the bar low for Guerrero. Junior had no problem reaching 21, hitting five past 440 feet (and two over 450), to punch his ticket to the next round.
Once again, however, Guerrero faced a steep road to victory. Having just finished batting to walk off Rodriguez, Guerrero was lined up to hit first, having entered as the No. 6 seed, a spot below the No. 5 seeded Arozarena. Guerrero didn’t have much of an issue getting going, however, earning his bonus 30 seconds for the third straight round with two 445-foot home runs. He hit eight baseballs at or over 110 mph. He finished the round with 25 homers.
Arozarena got off to a slow start, but started to pick things up late, and went into the final 30 seconds of the round needing only to hit four home runs to tie Guerrero or five to take the lead. But Arozarena only managed to get two more over the wall, coming up two home runs shy of tying Guerrero and finishing with 23.
The derby wins between father and son were quite different, owing to the format. Guerrero Sr.’s format put an increased emphasis on waiting for the exact pitch, while the current format allows hitters to make mistakes, so long as they keep swinging.
When Guerrero Sr. won the Home Run Derby in 2007, he hit a total of 17 home runs across the three rounds. Guerrero Jr. has never hit fewer than 21 in a single round at the derby and racked up 72 total in his win at T-Mobile Park.
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