Ozzie Guillén

, is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball and the current manager of the 2005 World Series champion Chicago White Sox. He is the first latin-born manager in the history of the game to have won a World Series. His career stretched from 1985 through 2000, playing for the White Sox (1985-97), Baltimore Orioles (1998), Atlanta Braves (1998-1999) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2000). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Following his playing career, Guillén coached for the Montreal Expos in 2002 and Florida Marlins in 2003.

Career

Player

Guillén is a member of the select group of weak hitting, quickhanded shortstops that emerged from Venezuela, a group that includes Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio, Dave Concepción and Omar Vizquel. As a player, he was regarded for his passion, speed, hustle, and defensive abilities, and his ebullient love for the game.

In 1985, Guillén received both the AL Rookie of the Year and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year awards. He was an All-Star in 1988, 1990-91, and won the Gold Glove Award in 1990. Guillén ranks among the White Sox all-time leaders in games played, hits and at-bats.

Manager

After serving as a coach for the Montreal Expos in 2002 and third base coach for the 2003 World Champion Florida Marlins, Guillén was hired in the offseason to replace Jerry Manuel as White Sox manager. He received a rousing ovation from the crowd of 37,706 Chicagoans when introduced before his first game as a skipper at U.S. Cellular Field on April 13, 2004.

Guillen, as manager of the White Sox

On May 30, 2005, the White Sox extended Guillén's contract, making the move while the team had the best record in the majors (33-17). Chicago picked up the 2006 option on his contract, added two more years and included an option for the 2009 season. In October, he led the White Sox to their first AL pennant since 1959, and their first World Series win since 1917 with a 4-game sweep of the Houston Astros. Guillén announced that he was going to retire after the 2005 season should the White Sox win the World Series, but at the parade celebrating the World Champions he received cheers from the fans when he announced he would indeed return to manage the next season. In November, he was named AL Manager of the Year.

In 2006, his first year of eligibility, Guillén received less than 5% of the vote (he received 5 votes; the threshold was 26) from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, thus becoming ineligible to appear on future BBWAA ballots. However, Guillén is still eligible for induction via the Veterans Committee, and may also merit consideration based on his accomplishments as a manager.

Guillen enjoys playing golf in Izcaragua Country Club when he visits Caracas. He also is a frequent columnist for the Venezuelan newspaper, El Universal.

Controversy

Although he is widely considered one of the best managers in the league and instrumental in his team's 2005 title run, Guillen has recently come under fire for a number of comments he has made about managers, players, and journalists alike. He has earned a reputation as being a very animated and sometimes eccentric manager who is not afraid to speak his mind.

Magglio Ordoñez

One of his most infamous moments was at the beginning of the 2005 season, when he told beat reporters in response to a question about former White Sox player Magglio Ordoñez:

"He's playing with fire. I'm not afraid of him. I have nothing to apologize to him for. I have nothing to do with Magglio wearing the Detroit Tigers uniform. Every time he played for me, he played good, but if he thinks I'm his enemy or I have something against him, that's up to him.

Magglio is full of shit. Apologize to who? I don't have to apologize to anybody because, first of all, he's the first one to name me. He said I was pushing him to play [last season], and I was responsible. Don't make me feel like I was the bad guy in this.

He never was my friend because I don't know him. If he thinks what I said hurt him, I don't give a shit. I didn't come here to make friends, I came here to win games. I've got a lot of friends. If Magglio doesn't want to be my friend, I'm not going to lose sleep at night.

He's a piece of shit. He's another Venezuelan motherfucker. Fuck him. He thinks he's got an enemy? No, he's got a big one. He knows I can fuck him over in a lot of different ways.

He better shut the fuck up and just play for the Detroit Tigers. Why do I have to go over and even apologize to him? Who the fuck is Magglio Ordonez? What did he ever do for me? He didn't do shit for me. But he said I'm his enemy -- he knows me. Tell him he knows me, and he can take it how he wants to take it.

Did he play good for me? Yes, he did. Did he play hard for me? Yes, he did. He might like me. He might be sensitive of me. He might be jealous of me, I don't know why. But saying I'm his enemy, he hates me, I could care less what that shit thinks. I don't give a shit what he does with the rest of his life. He fucked with the wrong guy, and he knows that, too. He knows for a fact that he fucked with the wrong people."

Jay Mariotti

In June 2006, a long-simmering feud with Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti boiled over. Mariotti wrote a column criticizing Guillen, calling him "senseless and immature," for apparently ordering rookie relief pitcher Sean Tracey to hit Texas Rangers batter Hank Blalock after the White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski was twice hit by pitches from the Rangers' Vicente Padilla.call: Time to worry about Ozzie" Jay Mariotti, Chicago Sun-Times, June 16, 2006. Tracey failed to retaliate and Guillen pulled him from the game and berated him in the dugout.

Guillen, upset that Mariotti hadn't interviewed him for the column said: "What a piece of shit he is, a fucking fag." He'"Guillen crosses line with latest slur" Greg Couch, Chicago Sun-Times, June 21, 2006. Guillen was fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball and ordered to attend sensitivity training. Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig's office issued a statement that said "Baseball is a social institution with responsibility to set appropriate tone and example. Conduct or language that reflects otherwise will not be tolerated. The use of slurs embarrasses the individual, the club and the game."

Guillen accepted his punishment, saying "I put Bud Selig in a spot he's not supposed to be.""Guillen fine with MLB's punishment" Mark Gonzales, Chicago Tribune, June 23, 2006. Guillen also said, "'If I hurt anybody with what I called him, I apologize, but I wasn't talking about those people. I was talking strictly about [Mariotti]. I will apologize to the people I offended because I should have used another word. Besides that, I'm still waiting for Jay. Why he's so afraid to show up to the ballpark? When you're afraid to do something, you feel guilty about something. Then tell him we'll pay his cab. Tell him to tell us where he lives, and we'll bring him to the ballpark and we'll have a conversation. But that's the way he is. He's garbage, still garbage, going to die as garbage. Period.""Ozzie vs. Mariotti: Guillen apologetic, defiant" Joe Cowley, Chicago Sun-Times, June 22, 2006.

Parts of Chicago's gay community declined to take offense at Guillen's remarks. Guillen's gay hairdresser publicly defended him, via comments in the column of Chicago Sun-Times sportswriter Rick Telander, and a well known gay bar, The Kit Kat Lounge and Supper Club began offering the "Effen Ozzie GuillenTini"[1]. Guillen also scheduled to make an appearance (which he claimed was scheduled prior to the remarks he made about Mariotti) at the Gay Games in Chicago.

Honors and trivia

* Guillén wears number 13, the same number he wore when he played shortstop for the White Sox.
* Ozzie Guillén was voted the 2005 AL Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
* On Friday January 20, 2006, Ozzie Guillén passed the citizenship test in Chicago, Illinois to become a naturalized U.S. citizen on the day of his 42nd birthday.
*World Series trivia
** Ozzie Guillén has 2 World Series rings: he won his first one when he was the third-base coach for the 2003 World Series champion, the Florida Marlins.
** Ozzie Guillén is the first Latin American manager (and first manager born outside of the United States) of a MLB team to win a World Series (2005 World Series Champions with the Chicago White Sox)."Ozzie Guillen: First Latin Manager to Win World Series." Disc 7. The Chicago White Sox: 2005 World Series. DVD. A&E Home Video, 2006.
** Guillén, as manager of the 2005 AL and World Series Champions Chicago White Sox, managed the American League All-Star team in the 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. His team was victorious.