Pedro Guerrero (baseball)

Guerrero finally broke into the big leagues in late 1978. His first major league at-bat came in the fifth inning of a September blowout loss against Randy Jones and the San Diego Padres. Pedro pinch-hit for former minor-league roommate and future nemesis Rick Sutcliffe, and singled for the first of his 1,618 hits. Exactly one year later he hit his first major league home run off Padres pitcher Bob Owchinko, appearing in 25 games total in 1979. Pedro made significant contributions to the parent club in 1980. He filled valuable a utility role over two stretches during the season, spelling an ailing Davey Lopes at second and a slumping Rudy Law in center. Overall, Guerrero played six different positions in 1980 and batted an impressive .322 with 7 homers and 31 RBI in 183 at-bats.

At the start of the 1981 season, incumbent right fielder Reggie Smith was rehabilitating from an arm injury, which opened a spot in right field for Guerrero. The first half of the season was going well, with a batting average of .325 and the Dodgers atop their division, when a players' strike halted the season in early June. After the season resumed in August, Guerrero won the first of five All-Star nods. Guerrero batted only .269 in the second half of the split campaign as the Dodgers posted a mediocre 27–26 record the rest of the way, but the Dodgers were guaranteed a playoff spot for their first-half lead. Guerrero's slump continued into the postseason. The Dodgers were pushed to the brink in two consecutive playoff rounds against Houston and Montreal, but managed to overcome deficits in each series. The Dodgers again faced the New York Yankees in the 1981 World Series, their third Fall Classic matchup in five years. Guerrero factored into three straight wins in Games 3–5, but his crowning performance in Game 6 sealed the series for the Dodgers. In that final game, Pedro totaled five RBIs and eight total bases amassed on a triple, homer, and bases loaded single. The one-man show capped a 9–2 victory and gave the Dodgers' their first World Series title in 16 years. Guerrero was named co-MVP of the Series along with teammates Ron Cey and Steve Yeager.[2]

In 1982, Guerrero won a Silver Slugger Award for his offensive performance as an outfielder. He also became the first Dodger to hit 30 home runs and steal 20 bases in a season, and he did it again the following year. In 1985, Guerrero tied a major league record with 15 home runs in June, and also tied the Los Angeles season record of 33. He reached base 14 consecutive times that year, two short of the record set by Ted Williams, and led the league in slugging, on-base and home run percentage.

Guerrero was an aggressive baserunner but a poor slider. He ruptured a tendon sliding in spring training and missed most of the 1986 season, after which he ran less frequently. But in 1987 he batted .338 and won the UPI's Comeback Player of the Year award. His batting average that year was the highest by any Dodger since the .346 recorded by Tommy Davis in 1962.

The Dodgers shifted him from the outfield to a starter at third base as a replacement for the departing Ron Cey. He also played sporadically at first base as the need arose. Although he gained a reputation for being shaky at third,[3] he was statistically as good as anyone in the league at getting to the ball.

During Los Angeles' 1988 championship season, he was traded to the Cardinals for pitcher John Tudor.

In 1989, Guerrero earned serious MVP consideration, batting .311 with 17 home runs, a career-high 117 RBIs and a league-high 42 doubles. His production fell off sharply afterwards. In 1992 a shoulder injury limited him to 43 games, and he finished his major league career batting just .219 with one home run for the season.

In 1993, after becoming a free agent and not finding a new major league team, Guerrero signed with the independent Sioux Falls Canaries of the Northern League. He split the season between the Canaries and the Charros de Jalisco of the Mexican League. He returned to the Canaries in 1994, then made one more attempt at a comeback in 1995 with the Midland Angels, the Double-A farm team of the California Angels before retiring.

In 1,536 games spanning 15 seasons, Guerrero recorded a .300 batting average (1,618-for-5,392) with 730 runs, 267 doubles, 29 triples, 215 home runs, 898 RBI, 97 stolen bases, 609 base on balls, .370 on-base percentage and .480 slugging percentage. He posted a .977 fielding percentage playing at all three outfield positions and at first, second and third base. In 26 postseason games, Guerrero hit .225 (20-for-89) with 7 runs, 4 home runs, 16 RBI and 13 walks.