Vladimir Guerrero Jr. isn't backing down from his viral comments about his $500 million contract.

The remarks came from an interview with Spanish podcaster Veronica Batista, with the full episode set for release Oct. 4.

"They didn't pay me to hit 40 every year. The contract was based on what I did, not necessarily for what I'm going to do," Guerrero said, via a translation from Blue Jays Central. "I understand why the fans believe it's the other way around."

"Sometimes I think that way, too. Like, they gave me this money and I'm not doing enough. But I try my best and I'm working hard."

Guerrero went 1-for-4 in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader, moving his slash line to .263/.335/.360 with nine home runs in 142 games.

That's a dramatic falloff from last October, when he carried a 1.289 OPS with eight home runs through Game 7 of the World Series.

Why he refused to walk anything back

He also addressed the boos he's heard at Rogers Centre this season directly.

"The fans, I know how they are," he told Batista. "When you are doing great, they are 100 per cent behind you. But when you are not at your best, not everybody is behind you. Almost nobody supports you."

"Those are my real fans. The ones that are supporting me all the time."

Asked by reporters in Baltimore to clarify the comments, Guerrero offered more context through interpreter Hector Lebron.

"That was a quote from the interview, and she asked me how I felt about this year," he said. "I said, obviously, I feel really bad about the year I had. I couldn't help get my team to the post-season. And I said that I felt, in my personal opinion, that every player gets paid for what they've done."

He pointed back to the timing of his contract specifically.

"If you guys remember, I signed my contract at the beginning of last year when I did put up a good year, the kind of playoffs I had, to help the team get into the World Series. To the fans, I never stopped working very hard. I'm going to go to the off-season again to prepare myself to do the best I can physically, mentally."

Asked directly if he regretted the original comments, Guerrero was unequivocal.

"No, I don't regret myself. I'm not lying with what I said," he replied. "I understand some fans, they don't understand the way and what I was trying to say specifically, but what I said is the way I feel."

There's always potential for meaning lost in translation, and Wednesday's initial clip came without the interviewer's original question attached, leaving some missing context.

But standing firm on the comments, rather than softening them under pressure, suggests Guerrero genuinely believes what he said, whether or not it lands well with a fan base still processing a lost season.