New York Mets third baseman Bo Bichette defended his former teammate, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., amidst his struggles this season.
A perennial AL MVP candidate for the Toronto Blue Jays, Guerrero is batting just .268 with a .695 OPS and a paltry 4 home runs, including 0 at Rogers Centre, his home ballpark that is notorious for being a hitter’s haven.
With the 40-45 Blue Jays struggling as a team this season, Guerrero’s struggles at the plate have been even more pronounced as his team has lost many games.
But while Guerrero is bearing the brunt of the fanbase’s ire and negative media attention, his longtime friend Bichette came to his defense.
Bo Bichette Defends Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Speaking to reporters in Toronto with the Mets in town to face the Blue Jays for a three-game set, Bichette defended his former teammate and good friend Guerrero from the criticism he has received this year for his poor batting stats.
“It’s the same story every year, wondering why Vladdy is not hitting .400, leading the league in OPS and all of this. I know he’s not doing what he’s capable of, but you guys have heard me talk about him before. Every single year, he ends up doing something that reminds you guys how good he is. Baseball is tough. He’s one of the best in the world,” Bichette said (via MLB.com).
Bichette and Guerrero shared a hug before the Mets and Blue Jays played on Monday, and Guerrero and the rest of the Blue Jays clapped for Bichette before his first at-bat in a visitor’s jersey in his emotional return to Rogers Centre.
These two are extremely good friends, and they are always going to have each other’s backs even though they are no longer teammates on the Blue Jays. That’s how deep their friendship and admiration for each other run.
Blue Jays Beat Mets
The Blue Jays managed to snap their six-game losing skid against the Mets on Monday night with a 2-1 win.
It was a much-needed victory for Toronto, which desperately needs to get going if they want to stay in the AL Wild Card hunt.
However, Guerrero struggled once again for Toronto, as he went just 1-4 with a single for the team. Still, the most important thing is that the Blue Jays won the game, so his struggles were hidden by the fact that Toronto walked off the field with the victory after closer Louis Varland shut the door down in the ninth.
As for the Mets, the loss dropped them to 35-50 this season, making them one of the worst teams in the league. The team looked out of sorts and disinterested at various points in Monday’s game, with a first-inning clownshow of fielding mistakes and errors by Juan Soto and A.J. Ewing in the outfield leading George Springer to score on the Blue Jays’ first at-bat on a triple with an error.
Game 2 goes down on Tuesday, followed by Game 3 on Wednesday. For the Blue Jays, getting two more wins and a sweep of the Mets would be massive for them and their playoff aspirations.
Bo Bichette Defends Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Amidst Struggles