Today I want to look at hitters from two different generations. One spent 16 years in the MLB, was a 9 time All Star, 8 time silver slugger winner, and one time MVP. Of course, I’m talking about Vladimir Guerrero. The other hitter I want to talk about, is Vladimir Guerrero Jr, his son. He is 18 years old, and is already in his second season of pro ball. His “career” batting average in the minors is .296 and he has 15 home runs.
The main aspect I want to think about here is the age-old question of nature vs nurture. Is the fact that Guerrero was ranked as the 34th best prospect in baseball at 18 years old due to the fact that he is Vladimir Guerrero’s son or is it due to the fact that he grew up around major league baseball players and had the best environment a kid looking to play baseball for a living could have? As with most questions, the answer isn’t as simple as saying one or the other. There are likely aspects of both that contributed to Guerrero being so good at such a young age. Guerrero Jr. is 6’1 200 pounds. His father was 6’3 235. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jr grew a little bit more considering the fact that he is only 18 years old. So his size is obviously due to nature. With his father being a professional athlete, he also inherited some very good traits that allow him a higher baseline. What do I mean? Guerrero Jr is going to be a better baseball player without practicing than an individual randomly taken from the general population might be with the same amount of practice. That’s what happens when your father is a professional athlete. However, there are certainly factors from the nurture side that influenced his development as well. He grew up around MLB players. That means he had great mechanical models to look at everyday and to model himself after. His father was one of the best hitters we have ever seen! Let’s take a look at both of their swings.
Vladimir Guerrero:
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
(videos are not mine)
We can see just how similar the swings of father and son are. Vlad Jr. looks to have a little bit bigger tip out over the plate right now. I suspect that as he matures and gets older, that will get just a tad bit smaller like his father’s, helping him to adjust to higher level pitching just a little bit better. And, a fun little side note: they both can hit balls off the bounce:
And just to prove the point a little bit further, we all know Vlad had a cannon. Apparently his son does too.
(he throws it over the fence at age 15 or 16)
Again, nature or nurture? Both aspects are present. Vlad Jr. is lucky in that his father is a physical specimen that played in the MLB. That gives him a huge edge. However, he was undoubtedly also helped out by the fact that whenever he needed a swing or throwing motion to copy, his father was always right there with an elite motion himself. Without both of those aspects, he probably wouldn’t be the player he is today.
That’s all for today. Only one more installment left!