TORONTO -- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. didn’t move an inch. He wasn’t leaving the box until that ball left the yard.
Finally, he had done it.
In his 289th plate appearance of 2026 and the 150th game of the season, Guerrero hit one out at Rogers Centre, in the fifth inning off Orioles starter Trevor Rogers.
He stood like a statue over home plate, his bat pointed up towards the left-field corner of the stadium as his ball soared out. It didn’t clear the wall by much, but Guerrero knew it. Even though it’s been a while, he knew it.
“I know my stadium,” Guerrero said through interpreter Hector LeBron. “I know when I can stand at the plate.”
This is the moment that Guerrero, the Blue Jays and their fans have been waiting for. He’s teased us so many times in 2026 -- in Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit and Boston. He’s teased us up and down both coasts, from San Diego and San Francisco, across to Philadelphia and even in Cleveland, but never at the place he calls home in Toronto. All season, Rogers Centre has been waiting to erupt around Guerrero.
“You look around and it looked like it was a walk-off homer,” said manager John Schneider. “I saw Giménez jumping over the railing. Me, George and Ernie were all high-fiving. Vlad is our guy.”
We haven’t seen this since that breathtaking 2025 postseason run, when Guerrero homered eight times in 18 games and put the Blue Jays on his back. That’s what it’s supposed to look like: the $500 million man standing out in front leading the way, but it’s been a while. Guerrero hasn’t hit a regular-season home run in Toronto since Aug. 17, 2025, against the Rangers, and his last Rogers Centre homer overall came in Game 6 of the ALCS against the Mariners on Oct. 19, 2025.
What a time for it to happen, too, because for all of the close calls Guerrero has had throughout the season, his second at-bat on Sunday was the closest he’s been. Guerrero shot a rocket to right-center field, but it smacked high off the wall at 397 feet, just a foot or two shy of leaving the yard.
Here’s the kicker, though. According to Statcast, that double was blown in -11 feet by the wind swirling inside Rogers Centre. Guerrero had just been robbed of a home run by… the wind. He’s battled everything in 2026, from his swing, to his body, to the incredible pressure that’s come with this slump, and now he’d been robbed by an invisible force.
The moment that zero became a one at home, though, you could feel the Blue Jays become lighter. The sellout crowd, understanding exactly what that home run meant, roared until Guerrero popped out the other end of the dugout for a curtain call, still wearing the red home run jacket and beaming.
“There have been times where we’ve all heard different reactions from the crowd,” Schneider said, winking to the boos Guerrero has faced in recent weeks. “I think the last couple of days, they've been behind him and wanted to see a game like that and a swing like that. He can definitely hear the crowd. He took a little bit of time around the bases. He knew how to respond and thank the crowd.”
Guerrero is a showman at heart. His game, when he’s at his best, is a celebration of itself. That’s why this season has felt so uncomfortable, and those boos from the home crowd, while completely understandable, have felt so new for Guerrero.
“I thank the fans for their support,” Guerrero said. “And one thing my dad always told me, he’d say, ‘Son, the fans never boo a bad player.’ I’ll leave it at that.”
Finally, it’s over. Now, Guerrero can just focus on hitting his next one.