Even during shortened season, Fife shortstop Guerrero’s elite bat stood out
AJ Guerrero stood at the plate with a 3-0 count, and opposing Enumclaw coach Eric Fiedler had a choice to make.
Tell his pitcher to intentionally walk the Fife infielder, sporting a batting average nearing the .500 mark? Or let him toss in a sure-thing fastball to one of the most dangerous hitters in the state?
Hoping Fife wouldn’t give AJ the green light, Fiedler took his chances, and his odds didn’t hit. But Guerrero sure did.
Guerrero was looking for a fastball, and his barrel found it. The University of Washington commit lasered a home run over the center field fence, and extended Fife’s lead to five in what eventually became a 7-2 win last April.
“He punishes every mistake,” Fiedler said. “There are a lot of guys that I’ve coached against. It’s weird, because you’ve got to think outside the box a little bit when you pitch (to) him, and even that doesn’t work sometimes. He’s a thinker, but he’s one of those guys that’s so cool, calm, and collected, he doesn’t start out-thinking himself. … He just doesn’t fold.”
Guerrero is The News Tribune’s 2021 All-Area Baseball Player of the Year.
His dominance in 2021 didn’t surprise Fiedler. As early as junior high school, Guerrero had made his name known on the pitcher’s mound, specifically against Fielder’s middle school team that competes during the fall.
“We played them, and my first guy got a base hit. We ended up going only five innings. We got ten-runned, AJ didn’t allow another hit, and struck out all 15 hitters that he faced,” Fielder said with a laugh. “I knew about him in junior high school. He was really good, and then you start hearing stories about things that he does at camps and showcases, and then you realize he’s a pretty special player.”
Guerrero’s baseball career started at the age of five. He attended his older brother’s little league games, and decided to follow in his footsteps.
His brother doesn’t play baseball today, but Guerrero is far from done; the Husky baseball team awaits his arrival, particularly now that his high school career — complemented by an .442/.477/.826 slash line — has concluded.
Had Guerrero not missed his entire junior season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which nixed another ten or so games this year too, Fife coach Shane Nixon said that Guerrero would have shattered every school hitting record conceivable.
“Everyone knew that when AJ was up, something, offensively, was going to happen,” Nixon said. “Even his outs. The balls he hit to shortstop… you worry about the shortstop fielding the ball because it’s hit so hard. He’s just good. That’s the bottom line. He’s just so good.”
While Guerrero’s statistics speak for themselves, it’s difficult to measure his impact on his teammates. As early as sophomore year, he’d spend his practices working with others. Guerrero’s voice, Nixon said, was through action.
“(I have) great people around me in my life,” Guerrero said. “There are lots of great friends that I have. I have a really close group of guys that I confide in and hang out with all the time. I have an amazing girlfriend. ... My parents have always been super supportive of me, letting me do what I want to do… they will help me out when I need it.”
And Nixon says that he’s never seen a kid play so much baseball. Even at home, Guerrero stands in his room to work on his stance, specifically his separation, and models former-MVP Mookie Betts as an example.
“When I would study the swing and the art of it, the mechanics… (Mookie) does an incredible job,” Guerrero said. “He is one of the best in the entire world at that. So I would try to mimic that and copy it, and it worked incredibly.”
His bat speed and contact ability led the opposing Fiedler to set a rather unprecedented game plan: in a big moment, don’t let him hit, and put him on first base instead. It’ll hurt less that way.
“The thing about him, when you’re competing against him, it is fun,” Fiedler said. “And for any coach that says, ‘he’s just a nightmare to play’ … it’s fun when you get a guy that special in the lineup. You come up with ideas, you think you’ve got a good game plan for him… he doesn’t miss bad pitches. Just a sure pleasure to watch the kid play.”
After graduating from Fife, Guerrero will head to the University of Washington and join the Huskies. A Major League Baseball team may even select him in this July’s draft, though one thing remains clear: AJ Guerrero will continue to crush baseballs wherever he ends up.
“It means a lot to me,” Guerrero said. “My whole life, since I was five years old, I’ve been playing baseball and working my (butt) off to get to this point. … I’m just super excited.”