And right after Vlade Guerrero learns English…maybe he’ll balance a dulce de coco treat on his nose, then toss it up in the air and catch it!
Statistically, he’s been great (for the most part), but again, I hardly knew him. All I know of Vlad is what I’ve heard through broadcaster Jose Mota, who usually translates interviews for him. That’s it. You don’t see Vlad on Sports Center doing interviews. You don’t hear him on the radio with Jim Rome. We rarely even see a quote in the paper from him. It’s as if he doesn’t exist outside of the box score. All we get is what we see on the field.
Now, I know that’s good enough for some fans, but it’s never been enough for me. Some of us want to feel connected to our players. Vlad could have had a love affair with Angel fans, but he never put forth the effort.
I’ve seen him at Spring Training. I’ve seen him walk past fans without so much as a wave or even a smile. Nothing. I’ve seen him ignore the autograph requests of little kids wearing his jersey. And I’m not just talking about once or twice over six years. I’m talking about him consistently ignoring us; as in all of the time, year after year.
I know I’m being unreasonable. I guess a little public interaction is too much to ask of a guy who made $15 million this year.
Maybe he was afraid someone would pick his pocket. Maybe he’s shy. I don’t know. Maybe if he’d learn to speak a little English, it would have helped him to have more confidence when interacting with the public. Then again, his unwillingness or lack of desire to learn new things is kind of indicative of his career.
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Well, yeah.
What?? This is pretty uncalled for. He's a borderline-HoF level player. What was he supposed to learn, exactly? How to hit .400?
There should be nothing but thanks for the efforts of Vlad, Figgins, Lackey, Abreu, and Oliver for several great seasons of Angels baseball, in the event that they are not part of the 2010 team. Gary Matthews Jr., of course, remains fair game.
Basically my rules are 1) Be a good ballplayer and 2) be a decent human being. The more you are of (1), the less you can be of (2) and vice versa. Vlad is/was a good ballplayer. I don't care if he can or can't speak English or if he really cares about the fans.
. . . to play baseball. That's what he made the $15 million for. Not to talk with or please you.
I find I become less and less tolerant of people who readily resort to mentioning money when arguing about things--baseball-related or not--that have little to nothing to do with money. If you're talking about a team's plans and a player's production relative to his value, sure, money should come into it. Otherwise, you're usually just going for the easy, emotional shot and you're revealing a lot about yourself that I'm not inclined to like.
Which seems fair enough.
And, what RB said.
But you, who cares? I've been privileged enough to see him play in person several times a year for 6 and a half seasons, and that's enough for me.
Now, I have a question: I haven't seen him played that much over the past 6 seasons, but when he was in Montréal, Vlad struck me as an incredibly talented guy, but a bad baseball player. Has he improved?
And he hits a baseball better than almost anyone who's ever lived.
That's more than enough.
Vlad absolutely has a right to keep to himself, avoid press and the fans. And True Grich has an equal right to decide that, because of Vlad's choices, he's not much of a fan of his.
More players should leave voids in their wakes. Minnesota fans are probably happier than Vlad's former Expo fans are.
Delmon Young is both an offensive and defensive void, so yeah, I guess Torii did leave a void in his wake.
Sad but true. After all those years, I'm still looking for a team to root for. Ideas, anyone?
White Sox.
Not Toronto. With the way things have gone recently (and are going to go this offseason), I may also soon be looking for a new team to root for.
The Mets await!
MWAH HHAHHA HA HA HHAHHAH HAHA HHAAAA!
Nor the Mets.
Nor the Phillies.
Nor the Dodgers.
Nor the Nats (God forbid)
Nor the White Sox (!)
Nor any AL team, for that matter. All those years growing up watching real baseball, I can't bring myself to root for a team that uses a DH.
So, I guess that leaves me with the Pirates or the Reds... Sigh. Or the Braves, maybe, when Cox is gone.
One shouldn't forget that Vlad is basically a country rube. He's reasonably smart (i.e. no relation to Pedro Guerrero), but he doesn't have much education and as a result has never been comfortable speaking to strangers. He isn't particularly articulate in Spanish either, from the few interviews I've heard, so it's not just a question of not mastering English.
But I don't care. The man in his prime was more articulate with his bat than a thousand Ivy School graduates. That's good enough for me.
I own and still sometimes wear an Expo's jersey with "Guerrero" on the back of it. Very rarely do I encounter people out on the street that have any idea who this guy is and that's cool since most times I'd rather not interact with random strangers (in person) any more than I have to - kind of like how I suppose Vlad feels.
And if I wear a Red Sox jersey with "Martinez" on the back of it - people who have never seen a baseball game in their lives know who it is. Both are superbly talented, HOF baseball players who once played for the Expos; but I would guess that Pedro has created more new fans (or retained fans at risk of apathy) of baseball over the years than Vlad has through his self-promotion, a larger than life size persona created in concert with the media and interaction with young fans.
I certainly don't begrudge Vlad for his wish for privacy and to be left alone to play ball but I'm not sure how MLB would continue to exist if every player expected the right to never have to interact with their teams fans.
And after all, when it comes right down to it, it's all about YOU, isn't it?
A factor yes, but if Vlad had played in Boston and Pedro in Anaheim the end result likely would have been the same.
Well, some of us are older than 10 and have real friends to connect with.
Not me, but some of us.
Because, Ryan, like Jim Jones, I know what's best for you.
Now come over here, sit down, relax, and watch a game with me.
Care for a drink?
I picked up the Devil Rays, but of course my own path to Expos fanhood was long and circuitous since I wasn't even Canadian.
That's very witty - I'm just slow by nature and not because of drugs. I'd prefer a civil conversation if it's possible.
What clear advantages are you attributing to Boston for Pedro that Anaheim wouldn't have given him? Anaheim is a major baseball market with a strong fanbase afterall. And I'm simply requesting for education via a less derisive retort.
Hanshin Tigers?
Considering that Vlad is a quiet, shy person who makes huge money and still lives with his mother, that's a pretty accurate impression.
Someone suggested the Cards. I kind of like the idea. The problem though is that you can't be made to root for a team. This kind of stuff just happens.
Maybe if I lived in the US somewhere? But I'm stuck in Edmonton and it's snowing as I'm writing this. My daughter has to f***ing wear winter clothes under her Halloween costume. So much for baseball fandom...
But that said, if said team doesn't care, esp. since Vlad's general public image still remains very positive, this guy can go bite it. Vlad Guerro's behavior isn't the greatest, but it's so far from the worst that it's de facto admirable.
I think I'd pick a player and rooting for his team might just follow naturally. Given that all I know about you is that Tim Wallach is apparently your hero, maybe Evan Longoria?
That's true. Thank goodness, for the most part, his badass hitting does that. And I don't really care about how well he can spout cliches.
Is it? Does his contract say that? Or does it simply bar him from engaging in acts of moral turpitude or which would bring opprobrium to the team?
And even if it does, what does "being a good role model" mean? Is he required to actively engage in certain positive behaviors in order to be a good role model, or is it enough to not engage in negative behavior? Do you have to learn a second language in order to be considered a good role model?
It seems like in professional sports, the bar for "good role model" is set pretty low -- if he makes it through his professional career without being indicted, that sounds pretty good.
Agreed. Lackey has more of a fanbase. Torii just does every interview, all the time. Which actually might become annoying during the latter half of his contract, when he (presumably) declines.
I used to feel like that. But the more I thought about it, the more I decided that one can't blame the Washington baseball team for what happened. The Montréal Expos died in the 2001-02 offseason, when the scouts and front office people largely went to the Marlins. The players stayed to become the MLB Expos, which eventually metamorphosed into the Washington Nationals. Eventually I resumed being a fan of the franchise, but that's just me.
I'd apply a simple rule for any ex-Expos' fan in choosing an NL team. Which one is closest to where you live? Or which one might you have family living near so that you might actually go to their ballpark when you and your wife pay a visit to your brother-in-law (or whomever) in Los Angeles (or wherever).
The question is, which family? Isn't Vlad sort of the Shawn Kemp of MLB?
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