3 Blue Jays most to blame for epic failure in the Wild Card Series

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

This was meant to be the series that saw Vladimir Guerrero Jr. step up and reclaim his crown as the king of the Blue Jays. Heading into the 2023 season, he held that title but quickly lost it to fellow franchise cornerstone Bo Bichette, who had one hell of a regular season.

Simply put, Vladdy did not step up. At all. At the plate, he went just 1-for-7 with a double and walk. This performance puts his career postseason batting average at .136. Once again, the club's most fearsome power hitter failed to show up in big moments and was left with next to nothing memorable.

"Next to nothing" implies that the series wasn't quite un-newsworthy. The only real headlines Guerrero made in this series was when he made one of the most ridiculous baserunning blunders we've seen in recent memory. By now you've undoubtedly already seen it and laughed at Vladdy for a few minutes before the "okay, what in the world was that?" thoughts began to hit you.

That one stings. In a press conference after the game, Twins pitcher Sonny Gray said that the pickoff play was called because Blue Jays base runners could not hear their coaches telling them to "go back" because of the loud Twins crowd. Sure, that helps a little bit, but this is still inexcusable on Vladdy's end and is a 1,000+ IQ move by the Twins.

The 2023 season was one mired in boneheaded baserunning moves by Guerrero, but he remains a key cog of the Blue Jays' future. While he has not yet been locked up to a long-term deal, he is likely to remain the face of Toronto for quite some time, so let's hope he locks in and eliminates some of these mistakes.