The Toronto Blue Jays‘ $500 Million Man has earned his money already this postseason. And that half-billion dollar deal doesn’t even kick in until next year. But the run Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is on in these playoffs rivals any that we’ve seen in Toronto sports history. Even, dare we say… Kawhi Leonard’s Toronto Raptors’ run in 2019?
Vladdy is now up to six home runs this October, tying previous Blue Jays’ legends Joe Carter and Jose Bautista for the most postseason long balls in team history. But those guys needed multiple playoff runs to do it. Guerrero is batting .462 with a .532 on-base percentage, an insane 1.000 slugging pct, and a 1.532 OPS. He has 12 RBIs in 10 games.
Dan Shulman, the Blue Jays’ tremendous play-by-play man, said on The Fan Morning Show on Monday that Guerrero’s performance is certainly legendary. It rivals two of the greatest October runs in history.
Guerrero Jr.’s playoff run among the greatest in recent memory
“All I read is it’s him, Carlos Beltran and Barry Bonds. I was there for Beltran and Bonds,” said Shulman. “This is historic stuff. I’m not (talking about) all the franchise record stuff that he’s doing. I think he’s beyond that. This is baseball record stuff, never mind franchise record stuff.”
For context, Beltran batted .435 with a 1.557 OPS in for the Houston Astros, with 8 homers and 14 RBIs in 12 games. Bonds, in the 2002 postseason, hit .359 with a 1.556 OPS, with 8 HR and 16 RBIs in 17 games for the San Francisco Giants (we’ll leave the asterisk to the reader’s discretion).
As for Toronto sports lore in the last half-century or so, there have been legendary moments. Like Joe Carter’s three-run homer to win the 1993 World Series (obviously one of the most historic baseball moments of all-time). Or Jose Bautista’s Bat Flip in the 2015 ALDS. And Kawhi Leonard’s rim-bouncing Game 7 winner in 2019.
And that led one Toronto sportscaster to compare Vlad to that Kawhi run.
Brent Gunning of Sportsnet 590 suggested that Vladdy’s run is entering Kawhi Leonard range. For those uninitiated with the NBA, Leonard put on a superhuman run in the 2019 playoffs, leading the Toronto Raptors to their first ever title, and the first championship in the city since the ’93 Blue Jays.
I never thought I would put anybody in this pantheon… This is a Kawhi Leonard run. This is the single greatest run I have ever seen.
Vladdy was ‘born ready’ for Game 7
First, of course, Guerrero has a few more steps to take to reach that pinnacle. And it starts with Game 7 of the ALCS Monday night. Is he ready? We’ll let Vladdy tell you himself:
The Blue Jays forced a Game 7 in the ALCS, their second in franchise history.
Vlad Guerrero Jr embraced the crowd at home in Toronto with a chance to advance to the World Series:
"I was born ready. I was born ready. And I want it all for this city."
pic.twitter.com/wlP1FwjCHO
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) October 20, 2025
“”I was born ready. I was born ready. And I want it all for this city.”