MVP Profile: Vladimir Guerrero, 2004

Outfielder, Anaheim Angels

Age:  29

1^st season with Angels

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 235

Prior to 2004:

A native of Nizao Bani in the Dominican Republic, Guerrero was signed by the Montreal Expos in 1993. Playing in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 1994 he batted .314 in 37 games with 13 doubles, 3 triples, 5 home runs, and 25 RBIs, impressing with his arm strength, speed, raw talent, and work ethic. In 1995 he moved up to the Albany Polecats of the Class A South Atlantic League where he was the batting champion with a .333 average to go along with 21 doubles, 10 triples, 16 home runs, and 63 RBIs. In 1996 Guerrero won the Class AA Eastern League batting title by hitting .360 for the Harrisburg Senators as well as compiling 32 doubles, 8 triples, 19 home runs, and 78 RBIs. Called up by the Expos in September he clubbed his first major league home run among his five hits. Making the Expos as the starting right fielder in 1997, he suffered a broken bone in his left foot that cost him the first month of the season. In a rookie year that included two stints on the disabled list Guerrero batted .302 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs and finished sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting. In 1998 he was joined in Montreal by his older brother Wilton, a second baseman/shortstop who was dealt to the Expos by the Dodgers. Guerrero broke out with 38 home runs, 109 RBIs, and a .324 average and was rewarded with a $28 million contract extension through 2003. He followed up with his first All-Star season in 1999, batting .316 with 42 home runs and 131 RBIs. In 2000 he improved to .345 with 44 home runs and 123 RBIs and placed sixth in NL MVP balloting. He continued his outstanding play in 2001 with 45 doubles, 34 home runs, 108 RBIs, and a .307 average. In 2002 he led the NL with 206 hits and 364 total bases while batting .336 with 39 home runs and 111 RBIs. Guerrero also stole a career-high 40 bases and led the league by being caught stealing 20 times. The troubled Montreal franchise was in the hunt for a Wild Card slot in 2003 but Guerrero suffered a herniated disk in his back that put him on the DL for an extended period and the Expos slumped until his return. In a season in which he was limited to 112 games he still hit .330 with 25 home runs and 79 RBIs. In the offseason, Guerrero signed a five-year, $70 million contract with the Angels.

2004 Season Summary

Appeared in 156 games

RF – 143, DH – 13

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 680 [11, tied with Matt Lawton & Hideki Matsui]

At Bats – 612 [10]

Runs – 124 [1]

Hits – 206 [3]

Doubles – 39 [10, tied with Eric Byrnes]

Triples – 2

Home Runs – 39 [4]

RBI – 126 [4]

Bases on Balls – 52

Int. BB – 14 [4]

Strikeouts – 74

Stolen Bases – 15

Caught Stealing – 3

Average - .337 [3]

OBP - .391 [9]

Slugging Pct. - .598 [3]

Total Bases – 366 [1]

GDP – 19 [9, tied with four others]

Hit by Pitches – 8

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 8 [4, tied with seven others]

League-leading runs scored were +1 ahead of runner-up Johnny Damon

League-leading total bases were+15 ahead of runner-up David Ortiz

Midseason snapshot: HR – 20, RBI – 77, AVG - .345, SLG PCT - .591

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Most hits, game – 4 on five occasions

Longest hitting streak – 12 games

HR at home – 19

HR on road – 20

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 4 AB) vs. Boston 6/2, (in 4 AB) vs. Texas 9/17, (in 5 AB) at Texas 9/28, (in 4 AB) at Texas 9/30

Multi-HR games – 4

Most RBIs, game – 9 vs. Boston 6/2

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 330

Put Outs – 308

Assists – 13

Errors – 9

DP – 2

Pct. - .973

Postseason Batting: 3 G (ALDS vs. Boston)

PA – 14, AB – 12, R – 1, H – 2, 2B – 0,3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 6, BB – 2, IBB – 1, SO – 4, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .167, OBP - .286, SLG - .417, TB – 5, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

Silver Slugger

All-Star (started for AL in RF)

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Vladimir Guerrero, Ana.: 354 pts. - 21 of 28 first place votes, 90% share

Gary Sheffield, NYY: 254 pts. – 5 first place votes, 65% share

Manny Ramirez, Bos.: 238 pts. – 1 first place vote, 61% share

David Ortiz, Bos.: 174 pts. – 1 first place vote, 44% share

Miguel Tejada, Balt.: 123 pts. – 31% share

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Angels went 92-70 to finish first in the AL Western Division by 1 game over the Oakland Athletics while leading the league in stolen bases (143), and both fewest walks drawn (450) and fewest batter strikeouts (942). Lost ALDS to the Boston Red Sox, 3 games to 0. A six-game July losing streak dropped the Angels six games out of first but they rebounded in the season’s second half to be tied with Oakland going into the final weekend. Two wins gave them the division title although they collapsed in the postseason.

Aftermath of ‘04:

The Angels returned to the postseason in 2005 and Guerrero contributed a .317 batting average along with 32 home runs and 108 RBIs, placing third in AL MVP voting. With 200 hits in 2006 he reached the 200 level for the fourth time and batted .329 with 33 home runs and 116 RBIs. Guerrero hit 27 home runs in both 2007 and ’08 while batting .324 with 125 RBIs and .303 with 91 RBIs respectively. He was primarily utilized as a DH during an injury-plagued 2009 season in which he was limited to just 100 games and hit .295 with 15 home runs and 50 RBIs. He moved on to the Texas Rangers as a free agent in 2010 and with accumulated wear and tear still limiting him to primarily Designated Hitter duty, he put together one last All-Star season, batting .300 with 29 home runs and 115 RBIs as the Rangers reached the World Series for the first time. Guerrero moved on to Baltimore in 2011 where he dropped to .290 with 13 home runs and 63 RBIs. He signed a minor league contract with Toronto in 2012 and played in a total of 12 games at the Class A and AAA levels. He retired in 2013 with major league career totals that included a .318 batting average with 2590 hits among which were 477 doubles, 46 triples, and 449 home runs. Of that, 1034 hits with 194 doubles, 10 triples, and 173 home runs were compiled with the Angels. He further produced 1496 RBIs and 181 stolen bases (616 RBIs and 52 stolen bases with the Angels). In 44 postseason games (16 with the Angels) he batted .263 with 2 home runs and 20 RBIs. A nine-time All-Star who was awarded eight Silver Sluggers, Guerrero was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018, a year after he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. His brother Wilton ended up playing for four major league teams between 1996 and 2004. His son Vladimir Jr. is a top prospect with the Toronto Blue Jays.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.