Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been given some hitting advice from future Hall of Famer Joey Votto.
Votto, one of the best hitters of his generation, knows a thing or two about putting the bat to the ball, and in a recent episode of the “Blair & Barker” podcast, the Canadian baseball legend shared some hitting advice with Guerrero, who struggled badly with the Blue Jays this past season.
Joey Votto Gives Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Hitting Advice
In Votto’s opinion, what Guerrero needs to do is watch film of his dad, former Montreal Expos and Los Angeles Angels star Vladimir Guerrero Sr., who was an incredible hitter and whom Votto believes the younger Guerrero should mimic.
“What I would challenge him (to do) is just watch your dad. Your dad is textbook for what kind of hitter you should be. Less body,” Votto said (via Toronto Sun).
In Votto’s opinion, Guerrero has all the makings of a Hall of Famer like his father is, and he’s betting on him to get back on track, though once again he urged the Blue Jays star to imitate his HOF father’s approach of attacking the baseball.
“He’s got 13 more years left on his contract and the great thing that he has is that he will never need to try to hit the ball hard. He’s one of the top, top guys at that and that’s the sort of thing that doesn’t age. He’ll always be able to hit the ball hard. Vladdy is always going to have that. Let the barrel get out there and all of a sudden that fast ball won’t crowd you so much, that stop sign won’t be so abrupt. Vladdy is a phenomenal player and I would bet on him becoming a Hall of Fame player similar to his dad,” Votto said.
Joey Votto Offerings Interesting Analogy for Vladimir Guerrero’s Struggles
This past season, Guerrero hit just .260 with only nine home runs for Toronto. He shockingly hit only one home run at Rogers Centre, a ballpark known for being hitter-friendly.
In Votto’s mind, Guerrero’s struggles last season are like driving fast and then trying to slow down for a stop sign, because Votto believes Guerrero couldn’t time himself to hit the ball correctly.
“Just helping to understand what happened to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. this year, imagine you have to stop at a stop sign and you’re going 100 miles per hour. And every single time you approach that stop sign, you crept through it, you couldn’t brake at the right time,” Votto said.
Given that Guerrero has roughly 13 years and $460 million left on his mega contract with the Blue Jays, the team obviously hopes that he will bounce back next season and get back to being the hitter that he was in previous seasons.
As Votto said, perhaps he should watch his father’s hitting style and try to copy it as he looks to break out of his slump next season and get back to business.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Gets Hitting Advice From Future Hall of Famer