It has been a great season for Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of Montreal, Quebec. On Thursday, Guerrero Jr. became the youngest Blue Jays player to record 100 runs batted in during a season with a ninth inning home run as the Blue Jays beat the Yankees 6-4 at Yankee Stadium in New York.
Guerrero Jr. achieved the record at 22 years and 177 days old. The previous youngest Blue Jays player to have 100 RBIs in a season was Vernon Wells, who had 100 RBIs at age 23 in 2002. Guerrero Jr. also became the third player in American League history to hit 40 home runs, and collect 100 RBIs in a single season before the age of 23. The others are Joe DiMaggio of the Yankees in 1937 (46 home runs and 167 runs batted in) and Juan Gonzalez of the Texas Rangers in 1992 (43 home runs and 109 runs batted in). At this time, Guerrero has 42 home runs. He is second in the American League behind Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, who has 43 home runs.
It was an historic week for the Blue Jays for two other reasons. On Monday in the Blue Jays 8-0 win over the Yankees, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. joined his father Vladimir Guerrero as one of two father-son combinations in Major League Baseball history to hit 40 home runs in a single season. Vladimir Guerrero of the Montreal Expos had 42 home runs in 1999 and 44 home runs in 2000. The other father-son combo to achieve the feat was Cecil and Prince Fielder. Cecil Fielder, who played for the Blue Jays from 1985 to 1988, had 51 home runs with the Detroit Tigers in 1990 and 44 home runs with the Tigers in 1991. Prince Fielder had 50 home runs with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2007, and 46 home runs with the Brewers in 2009.
Guerrero Jr. also set the Blue Jays record for being the youngest Blue Jays player to hit 40 home runs in a season. Shawn Green, Tony Batista and Jesse Barfield were all 26 years old when they achieved the mark according to Ian Hunter of Daily Hive Vancouver. Barfield hit 40 home runs in 1986, Green hit 42 home runs in 1999, and Batista hit 41 home runs in 2000.
Meanwhile in the same 8-0 Blue Jays win over the Yankees, Marcus Semien set the Blue Jays record for most home runs in a season by a second baseman with 37. Aaron Hill had the previous record with 36 home runs in 2009.
The Toronto Blue Jays are red hot, and they are coming off their second consecutive sweep. After sweeping the Oakland Athletics with wins of 11-10, 10-8, and 8-0, Toronto also swept the New York Yankees this week with wins of 8-0, 5-1, 6-3, 6-4. With their 5-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles last Thursday in Toronto, the Blue Jays now have an eight-game win streak, and are at 77 wins and 62 losses, and half a game back of the New York Yankees for the second wildcard spot in the American League.
