Making a comeback … or not

Right fielder-turned-designated hitter-outfielder Vladimir Guerrero signs a minor league contract with Toronto 12 years ago today, raising expectations that one of the game's premier hitters during the late 1990s and through the first decade of the new millennium soon will return to the majors.

Never happens, though.

Despite hitting .359 in 12 games with four homers and 12 RBIs for the Blue Jays’ Class A and AAA teams, the 37-year-old Guerrero is released a month later and retires.

No worries, though, as the retirement simply starts the Guerrero’s five-year clock to be placed on the ballot for the Hall of Fame, which he enters in 2018 on his second time on the ballot.