Vladdy could get ultimate revenge on Shohei Ohtani with World Series honors

The 2025 World Series has been a showcase to the world of just how good Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is and why he was worth every penny of that mega $500 million contract - which technically doesn't kick in until next season.

What Guerrero Jr. has done this postseason is nothing short of spectacular and right from Game 1 of the ALDS against the Yankees, the Blue Jays first baseman has put his team on his back and carried him to within one win of their first World Series title in three decades.

His inspired play, when it's all said and done, could be the ultimate revenge for Guerrero who may have been snubbed by another player in the series for some hardware four years ago.

Vladdy could get ultimate revenge on Shohei Ohtani with World Series honors

The 2021 campaign was far and above the best in Guerrero's seven year career. At 22-years-old, Guerrero had 143 games under his belt in the big leagues going into the year and was looking for his first real break out season. Spoiler alert, he broke out in a big way.

Guerrero absolutely mashed all year long. In 161 games he hit 48 home runs and slashed .311/.401/.601 with an OPS of 1.002. He led the league in home runs, OBP, SLG, OPS and runs scored (123). But he finished second in MVP voting to Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani had an overall bWAR of 9.0 compared to Guerrero's 6.5 (while Guerrero's teammate Marcus Semien had a 7.1 bWAR). Ohtani's numbers were almost as good as Guerrero with 46 home runs, and slashing .257/.372/.529 with an OPS of .962. But what put Ohtani over the top is that he accomplished all of that while also pitching.

Ohtani went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 23 games, all starts. He pitched 130.1 innings, with 156 strikeouts, and Guerrero, well he never went on the mound. Of course the two-way effort from the Japanese superstar was bound to get extra marks over Guerrero who *only* hit.

But now, as the two giants of the game go head-to-head in the Fall Classic, it is Guerrero who is starting to come out ahead in the MVP race. In five World Series games, Guerrero is hitting .364/.500/.636 with an OPS of 1.136, with two home runs, eight hits and six walks with only two strikeouts in 28 plate appearances. One of those home runs came off Ohtani.

Ohtani hasn't had a bad series by any stretch, although he is 0-for-7 in his last two games going into Game 6 with one walk. Overall, he's hit .316/.500/.895 with a 1.395 OPS - but a lot of that is thanks to the seven times he's walked, four of those being intentional. He's hit three home runs, driven in five RBIs and has six hits in 26 plate appearances.

While it may have felt like a bit of a sting when Guerrero's best season to date in the majors didn't result in him bringing home any hardware, the thought of lifting the commissioners trophy, while also getting World Series MVP honours would be a fine alternative.