Vladimir Guerrero and the Giants: what might have been

AT&TPark, San Francisco— The Angels came to town for the second interleague meeting between the two clubs since they met in the 2002 World Series. Not many faces remain from that series. Rich Aurilia is the lone Giant left over, and Monday's starter for the Angels, John Lackey, has blossomed since his game seven win.

 

But, though he wasn't apart of the team that won a championship, one man may define the past decade of Angels baseball better than any other. Perhaps that's why his absence, for the most part, in this series has been so notable.

Like the Giants, the Angels are a vastly different team than their ’02 edition. Vladimir Guerrero, the Angel's offensive heartbeat over the past five seasons, seems to be a shell of his former self, and didn’t start a game this series. But that hasn't long been the case.

Many clamored for the Giants to bring in the Dominican outfielder prior to the ’04 season to join Barry Bonds, creating another dynamic duo in San Francisco. The Giants stayed away from Vlad’s big price tag, and opted instead for Michael Tucker, and an offense by committee approach.

 

Hindsight is twenty-twenty, but what would the Giants have had with Guerrero in right field for the past half decade? His average season looks like this; 31.6 HR’s, 113.2 RBI, a .322 AVG, and an OPS of .943.6.

Sure, the Angles had the luxury of the DH, allowing the perpetually banged up outfielder to keep getting his at bats. It now seems that age has caught up with Guerrero. He’s hitting just .266 on the year (entering play Monday), with a lone homer, and a slugging percentage that would fit comfortably in the Giant’s lineup, .349.

At the time the $70 million deal seemed astronomical, and the Giants were going to wait for the insanity to stop, as player’s contracts, and the market was sure to self correct. But prices didn’t peak in ’05, or in ’06. They continued to rocket skyward. Finally the Giants joined the party; first inviting Barry Zito at $126 million, and then accepting an RSVP from Aaron Rowand for $60 million.

Finally, in the midst of global economic turmoil, salries came back to earth. Nobody understands better what happened this last off-season than Guerrero’s new teammate, Bobby Abreu. Abreu went from making $16 million last year to working class $5 million for the Angels in ’09. But all the while players were making gobs of money, Vlad was producing runs at a more than proportionate scale.

In 2004 the Giants won 91 games and saw the Dodgers clinch the NL West on the second to last day of the season; with a record just one game better then their own. They were built to win back then, with Bonds, Schmidt, Durham, Snow, and some scrappy young catcher named A.J. But ultimately they were a two man show; Bonds and Schmidt, and the show ended in late September.

The offense wasn’t bad that season. In fact, they finished second in the league, scoring 850 runs. But Bonds accounted for more than 27% of those runs, and it was clear the Giants had yet been able to fill the hole created by Jeff Kent’s departure; hard to believe, I'm sure. What makes the missed opportunity to sign Guerrero even more glaring reveals itself when you realize that the $11 million Guerrero earned that season was less than the $13.7 Durham and Alfonzo made combined.

Vladimir Guerrero was once an option, one that likely would have given the Giants a different fate as they weaned themselves off of Barry Bonds. Guerrero, will again be available for the 2010 season. Sometimes life gives you a rare second chance to do something special; this is not one of those chances.

 

For more info:Angels Examiner- William Martinez