Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been selected to start at first base for the American League in the All-Star Game.
Despite having a down year at the plate, the fans voted for Guerrero to start at first base over New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice.
The MLB announced the starters for the 2026 MLB-All Star Game on Saturday on FOX. The game takes place on Tuesday, July 14, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This is the 5th time in 6 years he’s been voted the starting 1B for the AL! 🍁
However, right after news of Guerrero being voted to start in the game came out, the All-Star slugger came out and confirmed he would not participate in the game.
“Very grateful to everyone who voted for me.. but at this time, very respectfully I’m declining to go,” Guerrero said.
“very grateful to everyone who voted for me.. but at this time, very respectfully I’m declining to go.”
Guerrero, who’s dealt with discomfort in his back, will rest up the back and prepare for 2nd half.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is Having a Down Year
There is no doubt that Guerrero is having a down year at the plate this year, as he is simply nowhere close to his usual batting standards right now.
Guerrero is batting just .265 this season with only 4 home runs — including 0 home runs at home at Rogers Centre in Toronto — with a .693 OPS. These numbers are all way below his career averages, as he has struggled at the plate all season long.
He did not deserve this starting spot, but the fans voted him in instead of Rice and Nick Kurtz of the Athletics, who both deserved to start the game more than Guerrero.
Both of those players have far superior numbers this season. By merit, they both should have gotten the starting nod over Guerrero, who shouldn’t even be a reserve on the AL roster.
Ultimately, the fans are the ones who vote for the All-Star game starters, and Guerrero is incredibly popular, especially north of the border. But the All-Star Game should be based on merit, and by merit, Guerrero has not been anything close to an All-Star this year. He’s an All-Star by name only, not by what he’s done on the field this year for the Blue Jays.
Kazuma Okamoto Doesn’t Make All-Star Game
With Guerrero starting for the Blue Jays, and with Rice and Kurtz taking spots on the bench, there was a ripple effect as Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto did not make the game as a reserve for the team, even though he would have been very deserving as a third baseman.
There are only so many spots on the team, so when someone like Guerrero, who does not deserve to make the roster, makes it, then other players that deserve it get snubbed, and that’s exactly what happened here.
Blue Jays fans love Guerrero even though he’s having a down year, and his popularity is the reason why he won this starting spot on the team. But he really did not deserve to be anywhere close to this team’s roster, and it’s one of the reasons why Okamoto did not get a spot on it instead, although he could take Guerrero’s spot on the roster after he declined to go.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Turns Down All-Star Starting Spot for AL