Toronto Blue Jays leading hitter Vladimir Guerrero Jr. expressed his determination to face the postseason.
Guerrero Jr. expressed his thoughts in an interview ahead of Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Minnesota Twins held at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA on the 4th (Korean time), saying, “I always say this, this is not an NBA game.”
He said, “It’s not like in the NBA where one player can score 80 points. 9 players play together. I will try to stay calm and do my job as best as I can. But at the same time, you will trust your colleagues. “If you can trust your colleagues, you will be fine,” he continued.
He also showed that he did not care much about the fact that Bo Bichette was put in at number 4, saying, “No matter who comes on as a batsman behind me, I will trust my teammates, the manager, and the front office.”
This is Guerrero’s third postseason in a Blue Jays uniform.
The previous two times both failed to advance beyond the wild card series. They lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2020 and the Seattle Mariners in 2022.
He expressed that he did not want to experience another defeat in the postseason, saying, “Of course I don’t want something like that to happen again.”
When asked at that time whether the experience would help him prepare this time, he answered, “Of course.”
“I felt very anxious in 2020 and last season,” Guerrero said. “This year, people who see me in the clubhouse think, ‘He is the player who is going to play today,’” he said 토토사이트about his attitude that has changed from before.
In particular, the second game of last year’s wild card series, in which he was ahead 8-1 but lost 9-10, seemed to be a great stimulus to him.
“No matter what the score is, we have to work hard until the end of the game and show a good performance until the end,” he said, also talking about what he learned from the vain comeback loss in the second game of the wild card series last year.
He did not hide his wariness about his opponent, Minnesota.
He said, “This team is the team that won their district. Regardless of the district, winning a district championship means you are a good team. “These are big league teams, and they are good teams,” he said, emphasizing the need to do our best against them.