Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looms as Yankees’ longtime killer

TORONTO — It is public knowledge that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. does not care for the Yankees, a team for whom the slugger said he would never play (before his $500 million extension made the matter moot and likely made him a Blue Jay for life). 

Guerrero has his reasons: The Yankees reneged on a deal with his father, opting instead for Gary Sheffield, and there was an incident involving a young Guerrero Jr. in which someone from the Yankees asked him to be removed from the field before a game. 

Is it a coincidence, then, that a hitter with a career .861 OPS owns a career .918 OPS against the Yankees?

That Guerrero demolished the Yankees to the tune of a 1.007 OPS with two home runs, four doubles and nine RBIs in 13 games this season? 

Guerrero all but shrugged. 

“It just happens that I do well against them,” he said through an interpreter during Friday’s workout day. 

Do games against the Yankees feel personal? 

“To any team, it’s personal,” he said. 

To his point, he has hammered other clubs, too. 

Stopping Guerrero, who either has killed the Yankees because he is a great hitter or because he holds a grudge or maybe both, will be a top priority for Luis Gil and the staff when the ALDS begins at Rogers Centre on Saturday. 

In 11 plate appearances against the Yankees’ Game 1 starter, Guerrero has reached base six times and posted a 1.351 OPS. 

“I try to keep it simple. Independent from who the batter is, I’m focusing on what I want to do on the mound and what I want to execute,” Gil said about the challenge that Guerrero presents. “I stay locked in on what I want to do regardless of who’s at bat.” 

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Guerrero’s dominance of the Yankees has not yet extended to the postseason, in which the seventh-year pro and five-time All-Star has not yet won a game.

In six games against the Rays, Mariners and Twins, Guerrero has gone 3-for-22 without a home run. 

The Blue Jays extended the superstar for 14 years this April anyway because they believe in the talent and wanted to lock up the face of the organization. 

Is this the October when Guerrero’s excellence announces itself? 

“I want him to play free,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I don’t want him to put pressure on himself because he is the face of this team. I want him to play how he plays every day. 

“I think if he does that, he’s going to find himself in some big moments and really needs to kind of just lock into what the task is in that moment.”