Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won the 2023 MLB Home Run Derby with an impressive display of power on Monday.
He bested Randy Arozarena in the final round and hit 72 round-trippers on the night as a whole, in three rounds.
When presenting him as the winner of the award, ESPN made a shocking mistake when listing his nationality.
They listed him as the second Cuban-born player to win the Derby, with the other one being Yoenis Cespedes.
Does ESPN know? pic.twitter.com/mhxav3ZCZd
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) July 11, 2023
Cespedes is Cuban and was, a little while ago, a home run king.
Guerrero, however, was born in Montreal, Canada.
He holds Canadian and Dominican passports: he was born in Canada and moved to the Dominican Republic with his mother when he was a child.
He was raised as Dominican, like his father, Hall-of-Famer Vladimir Guerrero.
Guerrero had Jr. in 1999, when he was playing for the Montreal Expos.
There is nothing about Guerrero’s past, childhood, or relatives to suggest he is Cuban.
It was a mistake by ESPN.
Instead, Guerrero joins Sammy Sosa, Miguel Tejada, David Ortiz, Robinson Cano, Juan Soto, and his father Vladimir and becomes the seventh Dominican to win the Home Run Derby.
Guerrero Sr. won the competition in 2007 in San Francisco – AT&T Park – when he was a Los Angeles Angels player.
Guerrero Jr. is trying his best to get the Blue Jays to the postseason.
Toronto is part of a really competitive AL East and its 50-41 record is good for third place there.
The slugger is hitting .274/.344/.443 with 13 home runs so far, but he is capable of much more.
Perhaps his Derby victory can help him get going in the power department in the second half.
NEXT: MLB Shows Every Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Home Run On His Way To The Title
