Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won the 2023 MLB Home Run Derby but it didn’t come without an awkward hiccup.
After the victory, ESPN’s broadcast produced a lower-third graphic that indicated Guerrero Jr. joined Yoenis Cespedes as the second Cuban-born player to ever win the MLB All-Star Weekend Contest.
The problem, however, is that Guerrero Jr. is not actually from Cuba. Guerrero Jr. was born in Montréal, Quebec in Canada when his father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., played for the Expos. His father is also not from Cuba but from the Dominican Republic.
ESPN graphic notes that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a "Cuban-born HR Derby champion."
He was born in Canada (Montreal) before living in the Dominican Republic. pic.twitter.com/0SvXxLod47
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 11, 2023
Guerrero Jr. has a Canadian passport and birth certificate. Growing up, meanwhile, he split his time between Santiago and Don Gregorio in the Dominican Republic and in the United States with his father.
Guerrero Jr. joins his father as well as Sammy Sosa, Miguel Tejada, David Ortiz and Juan Soto as Home Run Derby Champions from the Dominican Republic.
Perhaps what happened is that ESPN loaded up the wrong graphic and was instead prepared for a Randy Arozarena victory. Arozarena, unlike Guerrero Jr., is actually from Cuba.
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