Latest / Best of: Features / Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. apologizes for comments about his $500 million contract
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- 0:05Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Apologized for comments about his five
- 0:09hundred million dollar contract. This
- 0:15article is being read by an automated voice generated by Everlett. Toronto,
- 0:21the AP. Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. Apologized Friday for
- 0:26comments he made during a Spanish language interview about his five hundred
- 0:30million dollars, fourteen year contract. In the first season of the Big
- 0:34Deal, Guerrero said during an interview with They
- 0:37Dominican television programme Grand Ligas, that he was being paid for what
- 0:41he had done in the past, not that, he was going to
- 0:44do in they future. A clip of the interview for a show
- 0:46to be aired October fourth became public on Wednesday. They didn't pay
- 0:51me because I'm going to hit forty every year, Guerrero said. They
- 0:55paid me for what I already accomplished. People are confused about that,
- 0:59but I think the same way they do. Like, sometimes I even
- 1:02say to myself, Bro, they gave you all that’s money, and you're
- 1:05out here doing nothing. I try. After days of criticism, Guerrero was
- 1:10contrite. The main reason I'm here is because I regret my comments
- 1:14the other day, Guerrero said Friday thought a translator. I feel from
- 1:18my heart that my fans, my teammates, they needed an apology from
- 1:22me, and that's that I'm here for. Obviously I'm also here because
- 1:25I'm just going to tell everyone that I'm going to continue to
- 1:28keep working hard to make my contract a great one. I just
- 1:32gave it some thought, and I felt like the comments I made
- 1:35the other day is not what I really wanted to say, and
- 1:38I really feel that everyone my fans, everyone deserves an apology from
- 1:42me, and that's the main reason I'm here today. A six time
- 1:45All-Star Guerrero entered Friday with a.285 career average, one hundred and ninety
- 1:50two homers, six hundred and forty seven RBIs, and a eight four
- 1:54zero OPS. He hit eight postseason home runs last year to help
- 1:59the Blue Jays reach Game 7 of the World Series, which it
- 2:02lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 11 innings. Guerrero has slumped
- 2:07to a.263 average with nine home runs and fifty-six RBIs this year,
- 2:11slowed by a back injury, concussion, and right hamstring tightness. His home
- 2:15run and RBI totals are career lows for a non-shortened season. It's
- 2:20been a disappointing year for me, Guerrero said. I couldn't help my
- 2:23team more to accomplish our goal, which is hard for me. Guerrero's
- 2:28deal is the third largest in total dollars behind Juan Soto's seven
- 2:32hundred sixty five million dollars, fifteen year contract with the New York
- 2:35Mets and Shohei Otani's seven hundred million dollars, ten year agreement with
- 2:40the Los Angeles Dodgers. Guerrero's contract also includes a record three hundred
- 2:46twenty five million dollning bonus that protects the money from a possible
- 2:50work stoppage. Guerrero said he had spoken to his father, Hall of
- 2:54Famer Vladimir Guerrero, and apologized to his Blue Jays teammates. Asked about
- 3:00his comments after Wednesday's loss at Baltimore, which eliminated Toronto from postseason
- 3:04contention, Guerrero had said he stood by his remarks. See the AP's
- 3:08full MLB coverage here.