Toronto Blue Jays phenom Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made history by taking home MVP honors from Tuesday night’s MLB All-Star game in Denver, but he was quick to assign the award to someone else.
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Guerrero took to Instagram after the game to praise God for his first All-Star Game experience.
“Thank you my God, you are the owner of my dream career, so all the time I am on my knee before you,” he wrote (translated from Spanish). “Thank you for all your blessings, you are the MVP, my God thank you, thank you my lord, a dream fulfilled.”
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The 22-year-old left his imprint on the game in just his second at-bat. Facing Milwaukee Brewers starter Corbin Burnes in the third inning, Guerrero Jr. unleashed a 468-foot moonshot into the left field bleachers.
Every Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homer is absolutely majestic.pic.twitter.com/De9qbYkoDw
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) July 14, 2021
And he wasn’t done there. Guerrero drove in Blue Jays teammate Teoscar Hernández in his third and final at-bat to help secure a 5-2 win for the American League. It was the AL’s eighth straight victory in the Midsummer Classic.
Guerrero Jr. then became the youngest All-Star Game MVP in MLB history, and also gave thanks to God in his postgame press conference with the trophy alongside him on the podium.
“Dreams come true,” Guerrero said. “Since I was a kid I’ve always been thinking about this moment. I’ve worked all my life, very hard, and thank God it’s happening now.”
At the All-Star break, the Triple Crown is still well within reach for this budding superstar. He leads all of baseball with a .332 batting average and 73 RBIs, while his 28 home runs trail only Shohei Ohtani, who has 33.
Guerrero’s stellar season has Toronto in the hunt for a second consecutive playoff appearance, as it owns a 45-42 record, 4.5 games out of the last wild-card spot.
Despite carrying the expectations that come with having a dad in the Hall of Fame and all the hype surrounding his arrival in the major leagues, Guerrero Jr. has managed to keep God at the center. He regularly references his faith on social media. His Instagram bio begins with the words “God first” and he often includes Bible verses in his posts.
Recent posts include mentions of Romans 2:6, which says “God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done,'” and Matthew 21:22, which says, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
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Guerrero Jr. gets a couple days off before resuming the regular season. The Blue Jays return to action Friday night when they host the Texas Rangers at their temporary home in Buffalo, New York.
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