Blue Jays slugger Vladdy Guerrero wins 2024 Tip O’Neill Award as top Canadian player

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Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been named the 2024 winner of the Tip O’Neill Award.

The honour is awarded annually by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum to the Canadian player judged to excel on the field while “adhering to baseball’s highest ideals.”

Guerrero, who was born in Montreal while his father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., was a star player with the Expos, led Canadian-born major leaguers in several offensive categories last season including batting average (. 323), hits (199) and runs (98).

The 25-year-old also had 30 home runs and 103 runs batted in.

Cleveland slugger Josh Naylor, who won the award last year, Guardians right-hander Cade Smith and Boston outfielder Tyler O’Neill were also in the running.

Guerrero also won the award in 2021.

Past winners of the award, which has been handed out since 1984, include Hall of Famer Larry Walker (nine times), 2010 National League MVP Joey Votto (seven times) and 2006 American League MVP Justin Morneau (three times).

“There were several outstanding candidates for this year’s Tip O’Neill Award, but we are proud to recognize Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for his all-star and Silver Slugger award-winning season with the Toronto Blue Jays,” Jeremy Diamond, chair of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s board of directors, said in a release. “When you look at his overall numbers, he was not only the best Canadian-born hitter in 2024, but he was one of the elite players in all of Major League Baseball.”