One year ago, baseball fans in this city, and fans both grizzled and newly minted across the country, were surfing a feel-good vibe rarely seen in these parts.
asserted
fans → mint → parts
The 2025 Toronto Blue Jays were powering their way to a division title and an October featuring a takedown of the hated Yankees, a Springer Dinger for the ages and an ultimate heartbreak, brought on by a ball wedged in the outfield fence, a runner out by an eyelash at the plate and a hanging slider from a snakebit closer.
asserted
Jays → power → snakebit
But we loved them, and we came back hungry for more.
asserted
we → love → more
Some 3.3 million people have packed the Rogers Centre this year, the fourth-best showing in Major League Baseball, an outpouring of loyalty and affection constrained only by stadium capacity.
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people → pack → capacity
The reasons have been well documented.
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reasons → document → ?
They included a parade of starting pitchers headed to the injured list and a complete power outage at the plate.
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They → include → plate
But all autopsies lead to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the $500 million would-be face of the franchise, whose struggles with the bat would be painful for any fan base to watch.
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base → lead → bat
With his comments that surfaced this week, just as the Jays were mathematically eliminated from the post-season, Guerrero has driven a dismal season into a deeper ditch.
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Guerrero → surface → ditch
In discussing his record of futility this year, he told a Spanish-language interviewer that he had already earned his $500 million contract, which runs through 2039.
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which → discuss → 2039
“I want people to understand one thing,” Guerrero said.
asserted
Guerrero → want → thing
“The money they gave me wasn’t for what I’m going to do.
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I → give → what
They didn’t pay me because I’m going to hit 40 every year.
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I → pay → 40
They paid me for what I already accomplished.”
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I → pay → what
They rub salt into the wounds of a dispirited fan base.
asserted
They → rub → base
In April 2025, Rogers chair Ed Rogers announced Guerrero’s signing of a 14-year, US$500 million contract extension as part of his commitment to building championship teams in Toronto.
asserted
Rogers → announce → Toronto
He didn’t give Vladdy $500 million as a reward for the past then suggest he could put the rest of his career on cruise control.
uncertain
he → give → control
Guerrero surely didn’t mean that, but that’s the impression he left.
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he → mean → that
There was nothing lost in translation, and he essentially doubled down when pressed for clarification.
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he → be → clarification
He plays with an evident joy, happy to diss the vanquished Yankees on national television.
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He → play → television
When he’s smashing balls into the stands and emerging as a playoff behemoth, it delights a fan base that wants to love him.
asserted
that → smash → him
When the team is spiralling, his kibbitzing with other players, his languorous journeys to first base after another ground-out and his Gatorade baths begin to rankle for some.
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kibbitzing → spiral → some
Guerrero has been open about the pressure of delivering under the weight of his contract.
asserted
Guerrero → deliver → contract
“Every at-bat that I fail, I think about my contract,” he said.
asserted
he → fail → contract
By all accounts, he has responded to this lost season with more batting work before and after games.
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he → respond → games
His frustration has been evident in every smashed bat and tossed helmet.
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frustration → smash → bat
They indicate he doesn’t understand his role or the expectations that have been placed on his shoulders.
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that → indicate → shoulders
With that kind of compensation comes an expectation of playing through pressure.
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expectation → come → pressure
Such a contract also comes with responsibilities outside the white lines.
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contract → come → lines
You are expected to be the face of the Toronto Blue Jays, which, given the team’s national profile, carries even more weight.
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which → expect → weight
You are supposed to accept that weight, not explain away your contract.
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You → suppose → contract
Those close to the team say he shows leadership inside the clubhouse.
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he → say → clubhouse
But it’s not evident outside those confines.
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it → ’ → confines
Those fans don’t expect 40 home runs every year.
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fans → expect → runs
When he hit his only home run at home this year, the response was as if the team had won the pennant.
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team → hit → pennant
Fans want to root for him.
asserted
Fans → want → him
Those fans, often accused of chasing their sporting heroes out of town, have been kind to their struggling slugger.
asserted
fans → accuse → slugger
Guerrero has been accorded a well of goodwill that would not be available if he were playing in front of less forgiving fans in New York, Boston or Philadelphia.
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he → accord → York
Going forward, this team will need more than a return to form on the field from their first baseman.
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team → go → baseman
They are going to need him to show the maturity that a leader must show — in good times, and especially in bad times.
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leader → go → times
The fans and Guerrero appear entwined for 13 more years.
asserted
fans → appear → years
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
