CLEVELAND -- Months ago, in the early days of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s season-long struggles, he said he wouldn’t feel like he’s truly “back” until he could stand at home plate and watch his own home run fly. Only then could he really feel it.
The moment Guerrero made contact Wednesday night in Cleveland, he didn’t move an inch. His three-run homer helped power the Blue Jays to an 11-0 win over the Guardians.
The towering shot soared to right field, a no-doubter from the moment Guerrero made contact. He strolled across the plate, in awe of what he’d done, and flipped his bat to the ground as the ball crashed into the bleachers. He hadn’t even left the dirt yet, hadn’t taken a single step down the first-base line.
Chants of “Vladdy! Vladdy! Vladdy!” rained down from the Blue Jays fans who had packed the bleachers above the Blue Jays’ dugout.
“Everyone has been behind him,” manager John Schneider said. “You guys know I have been behind him the entire year and will continue to be. That was a bit of a deep breath for him and a deep breath for everyone. Hopefully he can stay right there.”
This is what it’s supposed to look like, and this is what we’ve spent all season waiting to see. On his first at-bat of the game, Guerrero made an excellent adjustment and drove a breaking ball off the left-field wall for an RBI double. Then, on the home run swing, his body exploded through the ball, the dozens of moving pieces finally coming together to play the right notes at the right time. We haven’t heard that song in ages.
“Oh, that looked great,” said Dylan Cease, smiling wide after the win. “That was nice. That was really nice.”
This is only Guerrero’s eighth home run of the season, and he still doesn’t have one at Rogers Centre, but any flicker of hope is worth grabbing onto at this point. The Blue Jays are chasing the third AL Wild Card spot, which has been dancing just out of their grasp for too long, but Guerrero is the shortcut. Without Guerrero, the Blue Jays need to play their best baseball of the season in every possible way for the next three-plus weeks. If Guerrero suddenly comes back to life, though, that’s a rocket strapped to this ball team’s back.
At the same time, the Blue Jays -- and their fans, who have watched with frustration all summer -- have learned to be wary of false hope. Guerrero, his manager and his teammates have repeatedly said that when it comes, it will click in an instant and Guerrero will catch fire. His first seven home runs this season didn’t turn a spark into a flame, though, so why will this one?
“I feel like I’ve been saying that, right? It could be a swing, could be a game,” Schneider said. “You never know where the mental game takes you in this long season. Hopefully, that’s a good feeling for Vladdy tonight and into tomorrow. You’ve just got to keep stacking those days together. As good as it was today, you’ve got to come on a quick turnaround tomorrow and do it again against a tough pitcher.”
The way Schneider has talked about Guerrero recently has changed, too. We’re hearing more about a player coming to terms with the realities of his own season, and maybe that’s been necessary before a turnaround, which is long overdue.
“I’ve been really impressed over the past couple of weeks, especially, with his open communication to me and the guys about how this season has gone and how he continues to work,” Schneider said. “That makes it easy to back the guy. Mentally, you have to be tough. You have to focus on what’s important in the moment. Vlad is doing a good job right now, working on that.”
All the Blue Jays have is the hope that this homer will get things ignited, but that’s enough for now. The player that lit the 2025 postseason on fire hasn’t gone anywhere and certainly hasn’t disappeared, Guerrero has just been completely unable to find that version of himself in 2026. If he can find that again, or even a sliver of that player, it can help fuel a postseason run that would completely change how we view Guerrero’s 2026 season.
One more time we’re left to wonder: What if this is the swing? What if Vladdy’s found it?