The 2025 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays has begun at Rogers Centre, and despite only one full game and three innings of Game 2 being played, it has already entered the MLB history books on multiple occasions.
First it was the turn of Addison Barger, the Blue Jays third baseman, who came into the first game of the series as a pinch hitter to make history. The American stood in the batter’s box with the count in his favor and found an 84 mph slider that he swung at to send it over the wall, the first pinch-hit Grand Slam in World Series history.
Later in the same sixth inning, Alejandro Kirk got in on the action and became the first Mexican-born player to hit a home run in the World Series. The monumental two-run blast came off a 93.3 mph four-seam fastball. Now, in Game 2, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Toronto team’s leader, did not want to be left behind by breaking another franchise record.
Why did Vladimir Guerrero Jr. make history with the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series?
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has become the face of the Toronto Blue Jays after rising like a phoenix with his $500 million, 14-year contract extension that he signed in April of this year. This season he led his team to be the best team in the American League and is having a dream postseason.
During Game 2 of the World Series, the first baseman broke a franchise record that had stood since 1993. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a long single in the third inning off Yoshinobu Yamamoto to reach 22 postseason hits and surpass Paul Molitor’s 21.
His postseason hits are distributed as follows:
- Division Series against New York Yankees: nine hits
- Championship Series against Seattle Mariners: 10 hits
- 2025 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers: three hits so far
What records does Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have with the Blue Jays?
Since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made his MLB debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019, his story has gone from strength to strength, but it was in 2021 that his career took off as he tied the MLB home run record with 48, was the leader in runs scored with 123 and total bases with 363. He was also the MVP of the All-Star Game, being the youngest in MLB history in that same year.
This year, Guerrero Jr. has once again made baseball history and not only for his 22 hits, he also set another franchise record with six home runs in the postseason, which earned him the American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player award.
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