Vladimir Guerrero

Did You Know?

• Guerrero was named to the Dominican Republic's roster for the 2006 World Baseball Classic but withdrew due to the death of three cousins in a car accident.
• He also represented Canada in a few games.
• On September 26, 2011, Guerrero surpassed Julio Franco as the all-time MLB leader for hits by a Dominican player.

Early life and amateur career

Guerrero grew up in Don Gregorio, Dominican Republic, in a house made of mud, brick, and a palm-leaf roof. His mother, Altagracia, sold food on the street until Hurricane David struck in 1979, after which she traveled between the Dominican Republic and Venezuela for work, leaving Guerrero and his siblings with a great aunt. One of nine children, he is the younger brother of former MLB player Wilton Guerrero. As a child, he and his brothers played baseball with makeshift gloves from milk cartons and socks filled with plastic bags; he did not own a real glove until age 15. After an unsuccessful tryout with the Los Angeles Dodgers, scout Arturo DeFreites convinced the Montreal Expos to sign him in 1993 for $2,100. During signing, Guerrero claimed a birth year of 1976, but revealed in 2009 that he was actually born in 1975.

Professional career

Guerrero signed with the Montreal Expos as an unsigned amateur free agent on March 1, 1993, and made his MLB debut on September 19, 1996, recording his first hit off Steve Avery. Two days later, he hit his first home run off Mark Wohlers. In 1997, his first full season, he batted .302 with 11 home runs and 40 RBI in 325 at bats. He led major league outfielders in errors multiple seasons from 1997 through 2007. In 1998, Guerrero batted .324 with 38 home runs and 109 RBI, and agreed to a $28 million deal. He represented the Expos at the 1999 All-Star Game and had a 31-game hitting streak that season. He finished 1999 with 131 RBI and hit 44 home runs in 2000, both career highs. Guerrero never struck out 100 times in a season; his highest was 95 in 1998.

Player profile

Guerrero batted without batting gloves, a rare practice, which he attributed to helping his grandfather pull cows home barehanded as a boy. He coated his batting helmet with pine tar to improve his grip. He batted over .300 from 1997 to 2008 and drove in over 100 runs for seven seasons between 1998 and 2005. In 2008, he swung at 45.5% of pitches outside the strike zone, the highest percentage in MLB up to that time. From 2004 to 2006, he had a 44-game hitting streak against the Texas Rangers, the longest such player-versus-team streak since 1969; over his career against the Rangers, he batted .395/.461/.661 with 25 home runs. In a 2009 game, Guerrero hit a pitch that bounced in the dirt in front of home plate, with his bat also striking the ground before contacting the ball.

Personal life

Guerrero has eight children with five different women. His son Vladimir Jr., born in Montreal in 1999, signed with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015, debuted in 2019, and won the All-Star Game MVP in 2021. Another son, Pablo Guerrero, signed with the Texas Rangers in January 2023, and a third son, Vladimir Miguel Guerrero, signed with the New York Mets in January 2024. Through business ventures in his hometown, Guerrero has provided jobs via a concrete-block factory, a propane distribution company, a supermarket, a livestock and vegetable farm, and a women's clothing store.