Blue Jays' Guerrero becomes youngest Hank Aaron Award winner ever

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. capped off a historic season with the first of several potential awards for his trophy case.

Guerrero was named the American League recipient of the Hank Aaron Award as the league’s outstanding offensive player. At 22 years old, he’s the youngest player to win the award, and only the fourth Blue Jay to receive the honour.

Vladdy tied for the most homers in baseball (48) and had highest OPS (1.002) in the American League.

He is your 2021 AL Hank Aaron Award winner! 💥 pic.twitter.com/MNMDsGZjFF

— MLB (@MLB) November 9, 2021

Previous Blue Jays Hank Aaron award winners include Carlos Delgado in 2000, Jose Bautista in 2010 and 2011, and Josh Donaldson in 2015. Guerrero is in illustrious Blue Jays company, as his 2021 season belongs on the Mount Rushmore of the best offensive seasons in club history.

For a while there, it looked like Vladdy might win the American League triple crown, but he finished tied for the league lead with 48 home runs, and had the highest OPS in the league at 1.002.

Among Blue Jays franchise records, Guerrero hit the second-most home runs during a regular season (48), he scored the second-most runs (123), the sixth-highest slugging percentage (.601), and the sixth-highest OPS (1.022).

In just his third year in the league, Vladdy came to spring training camp as a new man, having shed 50 pounds and looked like a new player. The proof was in the work, as he put forth one of the best age-22 seasons in MLB history.

With MLB awards season still underway, there’s a potential for Guerrero to add even more hardware to his collection. MLB’s Silver Sluggers will be revealed November 11, the MVP award will be announced November 18, and the All-MLB team rosters will be announced November 23.

Vladdy was named a finalist for the American League MVP award, but he has some stiff competition in the form of two-way player Shohei Ohtani, and the Blue Jays slugger also faces off against his teammate, Marcus Semien.