No. 27 Produces 2 Hall Of Famers: Guerrero (Present) & Trout (Future)

No Comments July 31, 2018 Angels By John Stellman

Two remarkably gifted individuals.

Once in a lifetime achievements.

Two distinct journeys.

One unbelievable destination.

Cooperstown!

Angel Dilemma

So what do the Angels do now?

Isn’t it a little difficult to retire a number that isn’t retired?

With Vladimir Gerrero’s induction into baseball’s ‘Hall Of Fame’, you’d think the Angels would want to make his uniform a part of their ‘Wall Of Fame’.

He would be the seventh honoree, joining Jim Fregosi (11), Gene Autry (26), Rod Carew (29), Nolan Ryan (30), Jackie Robinson, whose No. 42 has been retired by baseball, and Jimmie Reese (50).

Tough Call

“We’ve got to wait and see, but the guy in it right now does a very good job with No. 27,” Guerrero said through an interpreter.

That guy is Mike Trout.

So do you go to Trout, himself a future first ballot ‘Hall Of Famer’, and ask him to change numbers?

Probably not.

“I’m real superstitious,” Trout said. “Everybody knows that.”

Sympathetic Victim

Poor Keith Tarter, who is nothing more than an innocent bystander in all of this.

It was on that fateful day, July 8, 2011 when Trout was about to make his major league debut.

Back in the day, Tarter was the Angels equipment manager in Anaheim.

“When you get called up to the big leagues, ” Trout remembered, “you don’t really want to ask the clubbie the first day to get a different number if you want a different number.”

Trout was issued No. 27.

I’m sure the fact that Guerrero would someday be a ‘Hall Of Famer’ was the furthest thing from Tarter’s mind.

So here we are. Two Cooperstown inductees, one present the other future, wearing the same number.

It’s Happened Before

There is however, a precedent.

Four times in the past, identical numbers have been shared by honorees.

The Yankees did it with No. 8. That uniform was worn by both Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra.

Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux shared No. 31 with the Cubs.

Wearing No. 10 were former Expos Rusty Staub and Andre Dawson.

And Bruce Sutter shared his Cardinal No. 42 with Robinson.

They’ll Figure It Out

I’m sure when the time comes, the Angels will have arrived at an equitable solution.

We know that scenario is inevitable.

A well deserving Guerrero is already there.

Thanks, in part, to Vlad’s monster career with the Angels.

Ironically, it was Arte Moreno’s heritage that led Guerrero to Orange County.

Arte, you see, was the first Hispanic controlling owner of a major league franchise.

The Angels were coming off a 77-85 season on the heals of their first (and only) World Series title.

Let The Journey Begin

It was on January 14, 2004, that the Vlad era began when then general manager Bill Stoneman inked Guerrero to a 5yr/$70M contract.

The signing produced immediate dividends.

In his first American League season the muscular 6’3 235-pounder put up Most Valuable Player award winning numbers.

And it wasn’t even close. Vlad received 21 first place votes and ran away from Gary Sheffield, garnering 354 votes to outdistance the former Yankee by 100 votes.

His credentials: 39 home runs, 126 RBIs, .337 batting average, OPS of .989 and the league leader in runs scored (124) and total bases (366).

That all added up to 92 wins, one more than the Oakland Athletics. It was the first of five American League Western Division titles the Angels won during Vlad’s six seasons in Orange County.

“His six years with the Angels was arguably the most impressive stretch of team success in club history.

“Vlad’s contributions to that performance will forever make him one of the more popular men to ever wear an Angels uniform,” Moreno remembered.

Once In A Lifetime

“Vladdy was the most talented and exciting player of his generation. He was a fantastic teammate and a joy to play alongside,” said former Angels outfielder and teammate (2004-2006) Tim Salmon.

Said the owner, who led a 20-member entourage from Anaheim, “To me, it’s almost like you’re being immortalized. He will be in the ‘Hall Of Fame’ forever.

“He’s an unbelievable player, a great human being, and we’re just so proud of him. I think it’s great for the Angels.

“I think that sentiment is not only from our organization, but is shared with his many teammates through the years, and perhaps more importantly, his countrymen in the Dominican Republic.

“But this is more about Vladdy and his family and what he means to his country.”

Poverty was the only way of life Guerrero knew growing up.

He’s Come Along Way!

He lived in a shack. Drank from puddles of water. Survived without electricity. Had to quit school in the fifth grade so he could help harvest vegetables.

And he hasn’t forgotten those roots.

Don Gregorio is a tiny dot on the Dominican Republic’s southern coast.

There, Guerrero’s imprint is more than bats, balls and gloves.

It’s economic!

A women’s clothing store. A super market. A farm filled with livestock and vegetables. A concrete block factory and a propane distribution company.

Vladdy, the entrepreneur, has provided opportunities that he never had growing up.

One of nine children, Guerrero started playing in the Dominican Professional Baseball League with the San Pedro de Macorís team Estrellas Orientales.

And he hit without the use of batting gloves, certainly an oddity in this day and age.

No Batting Gloves, No Worries!

Why?

He told Yahoo Sports that he would help his father pull cows home barehanded. That was Vladdy’s mindset.

At 18, he signed a $2,000 contract with Montreal.

In 1996, Guerrero’s major league debut was barely noticed. He came to the plate 27 uneventful times, hitting .185 in nine games.

The following season he hit .302 in 90 games.

But it was that 1998 breakout season when the now 43-year old blossomed.

In 159 games Vlad flexed his muscles to the tune of 38 home runs and 109 runs batted in while hitting .324.

On His Way

He never looked back.

His eight summers in Montreal were memorable. Two hundred and thirty four knocks, 702 runners driven home and a .323 batting average.

Yet much to the chagrin of the local populous, Vlad on October 27, 2003 was granted free agency by the Expos.

But before Guerrero left Canada, fellow Dominican Pedro Martinez, himself a 2015 ‘Hall Of Fame’ inductee, impacted his life. They were teammates in 1996 and ’97.

“I’m so proud to have influenced his life and also his career in baseball.

“I’m just like an older brother that feels really proud to have given a younger brother some advice, and the advice pretty much paid off big time,” Martinez remarked.

Right Behind Vladdy

“There have been so many Dominicans who have played in the big leagues, “Vlad responded,” so I hope the number (of Hall of Famers) keeps growing soon with David Ortiz, [Adrian] Beltre and [Albert] Pujols.”

Beltre currently is the all-time hits leader from the Dominican.

Vlad (2,590) passed Julio Franco (2,586) for the top spot on September 26, 2011. But subsequently, Beltre, who has played five more season than Guerrero, supplanted Vladdy in 2014 with 3,137 hits.

How Does He Do It?

Because of his unorthodox style at the plate, Cal Ripkin Jr. in 2009 told a TBS audience that Guerrero was, “the best bad-ball hitter he’s ever seen.”

In a game against the Orioles, Guerrero hit a pitch that bounced in the dirt before home plate. Somehow, his bat struck the ground before hitting the ball.

Mike Scioscia, Vlad’s Angel manager, defined the Dominican’s strike zone thusly: “from his nose to his toes, literally.”

Vladimir Guerrero epitomized the free swinger.

Hardly the approach of Mike Trout.

Trout is an extremely disciplined hitter.

Two completely different philosophies.

But one incredible trip.

To upstate New York!

The MLB Networks Contributed To This Article

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John Stellman

I was born with sports in my blood. I began coaching little league baseball at 15. I was the sports editor of my high school newspaper. I did football play by play for the college radio station. I broadcast high school basketball for a local commercial station. But baseball was always my passion. During the 1970's I covered the Angels for the Orange County Register. And now I am back where I belong...