Back when the Los Angeles Angels were known for making their home in Anaheim, a future Hall of Famer was patrolling the outfield in Vladimir Guerrero Sr., but his son Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was also looking at the same fields he would play on years later.
During Guerrero Sr.’s time with the Angels, he posted a .927 on-base plus slugging and in his first season with the club in 2004, won an MVP and become an instant fan favorite. From 2004-09 it was Guerrero Sr.’s cannon of an arm, his 30+ home run talent, and model of consistency that made him a pure spectacle.
But now with two MVPs on their hands in Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, the Angels have become accustomed to watching incredible talent on a nightly basis, and they are seeing even more of that as Guerrero Jr. returns to the stadium he was at so often as a child.
As the 23-year-old returns to Angel Stadium, he remembers it as a place with a lot of fond memories, via Jeff Fletcher of the O.C. Register:
“I pretty much grew up here, and coming back as a big leaguer feels great,” Guerrero said through an interpreter.
When Guerrero Jr. jumped on the scene in 2019, he immediately made it known that he was indeed as talented as his father, and made it clear after finishing second in MVP voting to Ohtani.
Guerrero Jr. enjoys playing against Ohtani as a battle of two great ballplayers is always must-see television for baseball fans, and because of his dad’s great time with the Angels, many wonder if the possibility was there for him to sign there prior to choosing the Toronto Blue Jays:
“Never went through my mind,” he said. “I did a lot of tryouts for the Angels and other teams, but at the time Toronto was the team I decided to sign with.”
Guerrero Sr. signed with the Angels after the 2003 season on a five-year $70 million deal. If his son reaches free agency after his age 26 season in 2025, he will likely receive a deal worth five times that.
Mike Trout cements name with all-time greats
This season, Trout is playing like the perennial MVP candidate the baseball world has seen since his debut, and now joins Willie Mays & Alex Rodriguez as the third player in league history with at least 1,000 runs, 300 home runs, and 200 stolen bases by their age-30 season.
The Angels got quite the catch with Trout at the 25th pick in the 2009 MLB Draft and in his 12th season he has already joined some of the game’s greatest players.
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