Vladimir Alvino Guerrero (born February 9, 1975, in Don Gregorio, Nizao, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball right fielder and designated hitter with the Baltimore Orioles.
Guerrero batted .324 with 38 HRs and 109 RBI in 1998. Before the end of the 1998 season, Guerrero agreed to a $28 million deal. Guerrero represented the Expos at the 1999 All-Star Game. During the 1999 season, Guerrero maintained a 31 game hitting streak‚ the longest in the majors in 12 years. He finished 1999 with 131 RBI, and in 2000, he hit 44 home runs; both figures remain career highs.
Guerrero was a free agent for the first time after the 2003 season, and he signed a five year, $70 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels after being courted by several teams. The owner of the Angels, Arte Moreno, is the first Latino controlling owner of a Major League ballclub, and Guerrero has cited Moreno's Latin heritage as a motivating factor for choosing the Angels over other teams. He currently lives in Anaheim Hills, California.
Guerrero bats without wearing batting gloves, a custom rarely seen in modern baseball. In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, he attributed this to helping his grandfather pull cows home barehanded as a young boy in the Dominican Republic. To improve his grip on the bat, he coats his helmet with pine tar and simply rubs his helmet before going into the on-deck circle. As the season progresses, his batting helmet becomes covered in the substance. This was particularly noticeable with the bright red helmet of the Angels.
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