When a player struggles at the plate, there is no tougher critic than his own inner voice. The voice is sharp and unkind. It is cutting and at times degrading. It is judgmental. It is mean at times too. All of which can cause a player to try even harder.
The problem with trying harder is that it usually compounds the problem. Hitting isn’t about effort. It is about focus, concentration and execution. Mechanics are obviously important too.
The more emotions, like frustration, anger, and disappointment muddle a player’s brain, the more it changes his mental approach and likely his mechanics. The more emotional a player is, the more the game speeds up on him. He feels like he has no control over his outcome.
I know it is hard to believe but even the best players can feel completely lost. They can feel like they will never get another hit. They don’t know what to do to fix themselves. Everyone is throwing suggestions at them and they may even try a few to no avail. It is a horrible feeling.
That feeling can be compounded by the frustration of the fans. When a player is struggling the noise around him gets loud and the voices from the stands, which are easy to block out at other times, are heard clearly and they sting. Booing fans cause players to try even harder and again it makes matters worse.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is lost in the abyss right now. He doesn’t know which way is up. He has tried all of the things that have worked in the past when struggling, but this time they aren’t working. John Schneider and his staff have tried all of the tricks that they have to try.
And here we are. Guerrero, the $500 million man, is hitting .268/.347/348. He has zero home runs at home and only four on the season. That is the ninth most on the team. He actually has more stolen bases (six) than home runs. He has a 91 OPS+, which means he is nine per cent below average offensively.
This is just the first year of the 14-year megadeal between Guerrero and the Jays. This is not the way anyone wanted it to start. Not Guerrero. Not the Jays. And certainly not the fans.
Let this sink in: It’s 2026 and he is signed through 2039. He better get back on track or the Jays will be playing the next decade-plus with one hand behind their back. It will be especially bad if the owners’ salary cap proposal for the collective bargaining agreement gets instituted and Vlad is eating up $35.7 million of the payroll as an unproductive player. It could be catastrophic if he doesn’t produce.
That is worst-case scenario.
I have seen stars have bad starts to a season and then snap out of it. They usually get really hot and their numbers at the end of the season aren’t much different than their career stats. Others have horrible starts but figure it out later in the season, but the numbers just don’t get back to normal levels. They get better but not to a point of full recovery. Then there are some players who just can’t make the necessary adjustments in season and it takes an off-season to get back on track.
Guerrero is just 27 years old. He is physically in the prime of his career. His body looks the same as it did last season. He is just eight months removed from being as hot of a hitter as he has ever been. He hasn’t forgotten how to hit. He isn’t aging out. He is just in a bad funk and is lost.
But he will find his way out of the darkness. He will. The worst-case scenario will not come into play. Guerrero is struggling. He is overtrying as a hitter. He is putting extraordinary pressure on himself. He is definitely embarrassed. He wants to be the stud again. He doesn’t want to be heckled about being a below average player, a flop, or a bust.
Ultimately, everyone needs to be patient with him. He needs to talk less about his struggles. He needs to visualize his greatness and remember who he is. Vlad Jr. will find his greatness again. It could start tomorrow or the next day. It might take a bit longer. Maybe the All-Star break will clear his head. It will happen and everyone will be celebrating Vladdy once again.
In the meantime, he needs to be reminded to be a professional. There have been instances when he hasn’t run out balls that he has put in play to the fullest. I was so impressed by his hustle and determination last season. I understand that he is frustrated but he needs to channel that frustration into anger once he puts the ball in play. He needs to put his head down and run.
We find out a lot more about a person when things are tough and going poorly, than we do when things are going well. All eyes are on him just as much when he is struggling as they were when he was driving the ball to the wall and over the wall.
If Schneider needs to pull him from a game to remind him of that, then so be it. Being uncomfortable and focusing on something other than hitting could prove enough of a distraction that it could allow him to relax and just go play.
There is a role that the fans can play in helping Guerrero. Back in 2023, Phillies shortstop Trea Turner was having a miserable season. It was suggested that the best way to help a struggling player is not to boo him. Instead, it was recommended that all Phillies fans should cheer for Turner and show him love and appreciation.
So, the fans started to cheer for him every time he came to the plate in a game in August. They chanted “Let’s go Trea!” during all of his at-bats in the game. He only went 1-for-4 in the game but it hit home that the fans supported him. It made him smile. It made him relax. He had felt like he had been letting the fans down and this reinforced how much they loved and supported him. From that point on Turner his .337 with 16 homers 42 runs and 42 RBI in the remaining 47 games.
So, if you want Guerrero to start to hit, get out to the stadium and cheer your hearts out for him. Let him know you still love him despite his slow start to the season. Watch how it turns him around.
