Carrying the father’s name

When phenom Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., steps on the field wearing the Toronto Blue Jays uniform he will become part of a unique group of Latino major leaguers.

He will join Eduardo Pérez and Dereck Rodríguez as the third Latino to follow their Hall of Fame fathers into the majors, carrying the high standards set by Tony Pérez, Iván “Pudge” Rodríguez and Vladimir Guerrero, Sr..

There are plenty of expectations placed on Guerrero, whose arrival some have been awaiting like the second coming. Indeed, some of the expectations placed on him seem inescapable. He literally carries the name of his father, Vladimir, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame last July.

It is quite a task to carry your father’s name — trust me, I too am a Junior. People are constantly comparing how similar (or not) one is to your father. How one speaks, walks, and every other mannerism is under continual observation.

This becomes even more the case with ballplayers who carry the family name into the game. They are measured not just by their individual success and accomplishments, but also in contrast to what their fathers did in the game.

Routes to the Big Leagues

The young Pérez, Rodríguez and Guerrero traveled distinct paths into the major leagues.

Eduardo, the son of Tony Pérez, came through the collegiate route. He played at Florida State University before the California Angels drafted him in the first round in 1991.

But Pérez’s baseball education did not begin at Florida State. Instead, his schooling in baseball began as a child while his father played for the Cincinnati Reds’ famed Big Red Machine.

Eduardo gained the foundation of a baseball education few can aspire to build upon. In Cincinnati he learned from Pete Rose how to observe the tendencies of pitchers and figure out what they were likely to throw. These lessons helped Pérez during his 13-year major league career and remain useful in his current roles as an ESPN broadcaster and analyst.

It didn’t take long for Pérez to rise through the Angels’ farm system. He made his major league debut at age 23, two seasons after he was drafted. By comparison, Dereck Rodríguez’s path to the majors has involved unexpected twists and turns.

Rodríguez was drafted straight out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in the sixth round of the 2011 draft. After three seasons in the minors, the Twins converted him into a pitcher. Rodríguez seemed to have adjusted to the position change in 2017, going 10-6 between the Twins A and AA minor league affiliates.

At the start of the 2017 season, Eduardo Pérez had stood alone. No other son of a Latino member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame had made it into the majors.

When I raised the topic of his unique status during our interview at spring training in March 2017, Pérez commented that he was not likely to hold that status for too much longer. He told me to keep an eye on “Pudge’s son,” Dereck Rodríguez.

Evidently, Pérez had seen something in Rodríguez’s arm and mental makeup that the Twins player development evaluators did not. Released after the 2017 season by the Twins organization, Rodríguez would prove Pérez right in 2018.

Signing a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants organization, Rodríguez would make his major league debut on May 29, 2018. By season’s end, he had cemented a place in the Giants’ starting rotation.

The Family Business

Vlad Jr. will make his debut in Toronto versus the Oakland A’s after three seasons in the Blue Jays’ farm system. The 20-year old had followed the path of most Dominicans into organized baseball, signing as an amateur free agent. This path distinguished him from both Eduardo Pérez and Dereck Rodríguez.

Pérez did not have the pressure of making his debut knowing his father was already in the Hall of Fame. Dereck Rodríguez and Vlad Jr., however, will share the distinction of having made their major league debuts after seeing their fathers inducted into the Hall of Fame. In fact, both Dereck and Vlad Jr. were in in Cooperstown, N.Y. to personally witness their fathers get enshrined in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

To make one’s major league debut knowing your father is already in the Hall of Fame means everyone knows that someone in the family achieved the ultimate individual accomplishment in baseball. Surely, this can increase the expectations of others if their father’s accomplishments are used as the measure for comparison.

All eyes will be on Vlad Jr., in Toronto, but at least he is not alone in venturing into the family business of baseball as the son of a Latino Hall of Famer. In addition to making a call to his father should he hit a difficult stretch, he could also look to Eduardo Pérez and Dereck Rodríguez for support in dealing with the expectations of greatness.

Featured Image: Toronto Blue Jays Twitter