Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz praises $14,500,000 slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. during Home Run Derby: "You were born to hit"
Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz is a big fan of Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
During Monday's MLB Home Run Derby at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Ortiz was filmed telling Guerrero:
"You were born to hit. Your mind, your hips and your legs must always be aligned for that. That’s how power hitters are."
Big Papi telling Vlad that he was born to hit
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David Ortiz and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have much in common. Both are immense, power hitting sluggers of Dominican heritage.
Ortiz, a Hall of Famer, also played several seasons against Guerrero's father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., during his 20-year MLB career with the Minnesota Twins and Red Sox from 1997-2016.
Vladimir Guerrero Sr., who played for the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles in his 16-year MLB career, is also a Hall of Famer.
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won his first Home Run Derby during the festivities leading up to Tuesday's All-Star Game, defeating Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena 25-23 in the final round of the contest. He joins David Ortiz and the elder Guerrero as Home Run Derby champions. Ortiz won the title in 2010, three years after Vladimir Guerrero Sr.
Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez broke one of the two Home Run Derby records that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. set in 2019 with 41 homers in the first round of the 2023 derby.
Guerrero held the record of 40 in the second round of the 2019 derby. He still holds the record for total homers in a derby with 91, also in 2019. Pete Alonso won that year's derby by defeating Guerrero in the final round.
With David Ortiz watching, Guerrero got revenge on Rodriguez by defeating him in the semifinal round of this year's derby en route to winning the title.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. far outpacing David Ortiz in homers through first five seasons in the majors
Guerrero has hit 117 home runs through his first four-plus seasons in the majors. Ortiz only had 58 homers in his first six MLB seasons, all with the Twins.
It wasn't until Ortiz was released by Minnesota and signed with the Red Sox in 2003 for the puny sum of $1.25 million that he became "Big Papi." With Boston, Ortiz never hit fewer than 23 homers in a season after never hitting more than 20 with the Twins. Ortiz finished with 541 career dingers.