Regular Season: A Year Without a Home Run for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

On February 10, 2012, Scott Gomez, then playing for the Montreal Canadiens, ended a streak of more than a year without scoring a goal in the NHL; his last goal had come on February 5, 2011, against Martin Biron. At the time, Gomez was in the fifth year of a seven-year, $51.5 million contract.

You might be wondering what this has to do with anything, and I understand why. But there's certainly a parallel to be drawn with the situation Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is currently facing with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The fact is that the player, who is in the first year of a 14-year, $500 million contract, is marking (or not) a full year today without having hit a home run at home during the regular season.

Hitting well at home, however, had never been a problem for Guerrero Jr. in the past, as 71 of his 190 career home runs were launched at Rogers Centre.

Not to mention that he hit three home runs in Toronto during last year's playoffs, including an unmistakable grand slam against the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the American League Division Series—one of the biggest home runs in franchise history.

In the regular season, however, it's been a total drought in the City of Queens. Not only does Vladdy have just seven home runs in 2026 and is posting the worst slugging percentage of his career, but he still hasn't hit a home run at home since August 17, 2025.

True, last Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox, the 27-year-old sent a ball 395 feet from home plate, but it fell short of the center-field fence at Rogers Centre.

As my colleague Charles-Alexis Brisebois so aptly puts it: “Coming close is only good in pétanque…”

Created by humans, assisted by AI.