Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider shared his reaction to the crowd booing first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The Blue Jays needed to beat the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night to keep pace with the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Wild Card hunt, but they lost 7-4 after a disastrous pitching performance by starter Max Scherzer, who allowed 6 ER in just 5 IP.
To make matters worse, Guerrero only went 1-for-4, with his lone hit being an infield single in the bottom of the ninth inning. In addition to not hitting when the team needed him to earlier in the game, when he came up with runners on base, Guerrero was also picked off at first base in a boneheaded play that featured fans understandably grumbling in the crowd.
John Schneider Reacts to Boos
Speaking to reporters after the game, Schneider shared his reaction to hearing the crowd boo Guerrero.
“It’s tough to hear (boos) and then to hear 40,000 chanting your name. When you have a process that you can stick to no matter what the outcome is, I think that’s important. It’s something he’s working on, and something I thought he handled pretty well tonight, but he gets a lot of fan reaction, good and bad, and that comes with being him,” Schneider said (via Sportsnet).
“Mentally, you have to be pretty strong and pretty locked into what you’re doing. And I thought he did a good job of navigating that.”
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Has to Be Better
With just 14 games remaining this season, Guerrero simply needs to be better if the Blue Jays are going to have any chance of making it to the postseason.
He has been absolutely terrible this season at the plate, a shocking start to his 14-year, $500 million contract that only just kicked in this year.
Guerrero still has 13 years left on his deal after this one, and the Blue Jays were surely counting on him to be much more productive this year in his age-27 season. Instead, he has been downright awful with the bat, and you can’t blame the fans for booing him.
Blue Jays Manager Reacts to Crowd Booing Vladimir Guerrero Jr.