Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. apologized Friday for comments he made during a Spanish language interview about his $500 million, 14-year contract.
In the first season of the big deal, Guerrero said during an interview with the Dominican television program “Grandes Ligas” that he was being paid for what he had done in the past, not what he was going to do in the future. A clip of the interview for a show to be aired Oct. 4 became public on Wednesday.
“They didn’t pay me because I’m going to hit 40 every year,” Guerrero said. “They paid me for what I already accomplished. People are confused about that, but I think the same way they do. Like, sometimes I even say to myself ‘Bro, they gave you all that money and you’re out here doing nothing.’ I try.”
After days of criticism, Guerrero was contrite.
“The main reason I’m here is because I regret my comments the other day,” Guerrero said Friday through a translator. “I feel from my heart that my fans, my teammates, they needed an apology from me and that’s what I’m here for. Obviously, I’m also here because I’m just going to tell everyone that I’m going to continue to keep working hard to make my contract a great one.
“I just gave it some thought and I felt like the comments I made the other day is not what I really wanted to say, and I really feel that everyone, my fans, everyone deserves an apology from me and that’s the main reason I’m here today.”
A six-time All-Star, Guerrero entered Friday with a .285 career average, 192 homers, 647 RBIs and an .840 OPS.
He hit eight postseason home runs last year to help the Blue Jays reach Game 7 of the World Series, which it lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 11 innings.
Guerrero has slumped to a .263 average with nine home runs and 56 RBIs this year, slowed by a back injury, concussion and right hamstring tightness. His home run and RBI totals are career lows for a non-shortened season.
“It’s been a disappointing year for me,” Guerrero said. “I couldn’t help my team more to accomplish our goal, which is hard for me.”
Guerrero’s deal is the third-largest in total dollars behind Juan Soto’s $765 million, 15-year contract with the New York Mets and Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million, 10-year agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Guerrero’s contract also includes a record $325 million signing bonus that protects the money from a possible work stoppage.
Guerrero said he had spoken to his father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, and apologized to his Blue Jays teammates.
Asked about his comments after Wednesday’s loss at Baltimore, which eliminated Toronto from postseason contention, Guerrero had said he stood by his remarks.
“What you see on the field a fun-loving guy and you see a really really good player, but I think that he could be misunderstood sometimes and he’s one of the best teammates that I’ve ever seen,” said Schneider in his office at Rogers Centre. “He definitely puts in the work to post every day and I think some things can kind of get lost in translation, for lack of a better way to say it, but he’s misunderstood maybe a little bit at times.
“He can be an easy target because of the contract and because of everything.”
One of the people Guerrero spoke to Thursday was his father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero.
“He basically told me that what I did was wrong, and to make sure that (I do) what I’m doing right now, (giving) all my fans an apology,” said the son.
Guerrero said it’s been a disappointing season. Statistically, the first year of his 14-year contract has been one of his worst seasons with a .263 batting average, nine home runs and 56 runs batted in.
“I’m not going to make any excuses. I mean, basically, I didn’t have a good season,” said Guerrero, who refused to blame ongoing back issues. “My focus right now is going into the off-season, work very hard, and make sure that I come back strong and make my contract a great one.”
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