Short on proclamations, Guerrero Jr. aims for return to MVP-like form at spring training

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., provided one of the better lines of spring training last year when he proclaimed the Blue Jays' 2021 season was the trailer and the 2022 campaign would be the movie.

It turned out to be a shorter film than he'd hoped. Toronto's post-season run lasted the minimum two games.

There were no such proclamations on Friday when Guerrero held his first formal media availability of the spring.

"This year I'm not going to say anything," he said with a smile via interpreter Hector Lebron. "You guys will have to watch."

The young slugger hit 32 homers, drove in 97 runs and hit .274 in 2022 — a career season for many players. But coming off a second-place finish in the MVP race, it was a slight dip in production.

Guerrero admitted he put a lot of pressure on himself and was a little anxious at times in the batter's box.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said teams were "pretty consistent" in how they tried to attack him, including trying to get him to chase pitches outside the zone.

"Like any young player, there's going to be an adjustment and then a readjustment based on what the league is doing," he said. "So I think that's the main part of it is just really swinging at the right pitches."

Mental preparation and pitch selection will be key, Guerrero said.

"As a ballplayer, you want to get better every year," he said. "You guys know the numbers that I put up in '21. Last spring training, I came here and tried to [produce] even better numbers. I think that affected me a little bit.

"But this year, I'm coming with a plan. I'm just going to trust my talent and I'm just going to keep working hard and hopefully everything goes well."

Like Father, Like Son