Returning to Toronto Blue Jays camp in Dunedin on Thursday, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. still has the World Baseball Classic on his mind.
The 27-year-old Guerrero’s Dominican Republic saw their tournament end in the semi-finals with a 2-1 loss to the United States. The game ended with Geraldo Perdomo called out on strikes with a full count and Julio Rodriguez representing the game’s tying run at third base. The sinker in question from Mason Miller appeared to be well below the strike zone.
Guerrero acknowledged that the umpire was human and makes mistakes like anybody else, but question why the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System that will be used in Major League Baseball this season wasn’t available in the WBC.
The ABS system will be used for the first time in the big leagues this season after its implementation in the minors in previous years as a trial run.
On the pitch that ended the DR’s tournament, through interpreter:
“That’s baseball. But I will say this, I will say that since we’re going to use (ABS) this year in the regular season, why wouldn’t we use it in the WBC?”
— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) March 18, 2026
“It’s baseball,” Guerrero said of the missed call. “I’ll say this: if we’re going to use [ABS] this year in the regular season, why wouldn’t we use it at the WBC? Everybody knew [it was a ball]. [The umpire] thought it was a strike. He’s human. But everybody that saw it knew what really happened.”
Still, Guerrero, who did not play in 2023, called his first WBC his “greatest pleasure” and indicated eager to play in the tournament again.
In five games, Guerrero batted .444 with eight hits, two home runs, eight runs batted in and an OPS of 1.420.
Guerrero’s Blue Jays, the defending American League champions, open their 2026 campaign at the Rogers Centre on Mar. 27 against the Athletics.