Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is spending a busy offseason with family in the Dominican Republic.
He recently visited his father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr., who plans to train him this winter. The 51-year-old hit .318 with 449 home runs over 16 seasons.
He told Dominican reporter Mike Rodriguez he plans to work more with his son. Wilton Guerrero, the 27-year-old’s uncle and a former major leaguer, will also help.
The next day, Guerrero visited his mother, Riquelma Ramos, in Santiago.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Announces Personal News
Guerrero surprised his mother with a new black Lexus LX. He uploaded her reaction on Instagram on Thursday.
“I love you, you deserve that and more,” he wrote.
Ramos is a Santiago native. She gave birth to Guerrero in Montreal on March 16, 1999, while Guerrero Sr. played for the Montreal Expos. She learned French while living in Montreal.
The couple never married. They separated when Guerrero was very young. Ramos returned to Santiago and her son went with her.
Guerrero spent his summers with his father in the United States. Little is publicly known about how his parents relate today. Ramos has largely stayed out of the spotlight.
The slugger wrote in a 2017 Players’ Tribune essay that he lived in Canada for only a few years. He then moved back to the Dominican Republic with his mother and grandparents.
In 2015, then-Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos, a Montreal native, met Ramos and the family in Santiago.
Anthopoulos later recalled that Ramos spoke fluent French and took pride in her son’s Quebec birth certificate. The Blue Jays signed Guerrero on July 2, 2015, for $3.9 million.
Guerrero’s mother has a huge contribution in his life.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Enjoys Eladio Carrión Concert
Guerrero enjoyed a concert by Puerto Rican artist Eladio Carrión, a Latin Grammy winner, in Santiago after meeting his mother.
He has spoken openly about their bond. “At this stage of my life, I consider him a brother,” Guerrero told Remezcla in July 2024.
Asked in that interview to name his three favorite musicians, Guerrero said Carrión’s name three times.
Carrión recruited the Blue Jays man for the 2023 video for “Si Salimos,” a track featuring rapper 50 Cent.
Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Announces Personal Family News Amid MLB Offseason