World Baseball Classic Offense Highlighted By Blue Jays Own First Baseman
In this story:
The World Baseball Classic is arguably the best tournament that the sport has to offer as players battle each other wearing their home country across their chests. The Toronto Blue Jays were well represented throughout, including in the finals that featured Team Venezuela and Team USA.
There were multiple Jays who performed well throughout the course of the last two weeks, but one has his name plastered across the player's leaderboard- first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who led the Dominican Republic to the semi-finals.
The Dominicans were an absolute powerhouse until their final loss. Going into the semis, Guerrero's home country had played in five games where they scored a combined 51 runs. They were easily the best offensive team in the tournament as they had a team average OPS over 1.000, and Guerrero Jr. was their most elite weapon.
VLADIMIR GUERRERO JR. 2-RUN JACK 💪🇩🇴 pic.twitter.com/fEqp8nsep2
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 8, 2026
When wearing the DR jersey, Guerrero Jr. looked eerily similar to the player who was seen during the Blue Jays' 2025 postseason run. In the last couple of weeks, he led his home country's team in multiple aspects, including batting average (.444), slugging percentage (.944), and OPS (1.420)
To complement that near unfathomable slash line, Guerrero Jr. hit a pair of home runs, batted in eight runners, scored five runs, and also added another three doubles to go with his stat line. It wasn't until the Dominicans faced the U.S. that they slowed down, but Guerrero Jr. still had a double against Paul Skenes, no less.
It was hard not to root for the Dominican Republic, no matter where someone hailed from. They were just too fun to watch. Seeing Guerrero Jr. in the finals would have been icing on the cake, but it won't be long before fans get to watch him step up to the plate again.
Other Blue Jays' WBC Highlights
In the semi's matchup, Guerrero Jr. watched a new face to the Blue Jays' bullpen take the mound, and made a huge impact- Tyler Rogers. Rogers came out to replace Skenes with a pair of runners on the bags. Not only did Rogers induce a double play to end the inning without a run scored, but he also only had to throw two balls to do it.
Another infielder for Toronto had a highlight reel of his own, and that came in the second game of pool play for the United States when they were facing off with Great Britain. By the time the game was over, Ernie Clement had scored three of their nine runs, drawn a walk, stolen a base, and hit a single.
The 2026 roster that the Jays assembled is stacked with talent. This could be a 100+ win season for the ballclub as Guerrero Jr. eyes another Silver Slugger, which will easily be his with performances like those in the WBC.
Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.