Ozzie Guillen
Venezuelan shortstop and manager who won the 2005 World Series with the Chicago White Sox.
Oswaldo José Guillén Barrios (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡiˈʎen]; born January 20, 1964) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player and current manager of the Tigres de Aragua of the Venezuelan League. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1985 to 2000, most prominently as a member of the Chicago White Sox, where he won the American League Rookie of the Year Award as well as a Gold Glove Award. A three-time All-Star player, Guillén was considered one of the best defensive shortstops of his era. He later managed the Chicago White Sox from 2004 to 2011, winning the World Series in 2005 and then moving to the Miami Marlins in 2012.
Quick Facts
- Team
- Tigres de Aragua
- Position
- Shortstop; Manager
- Bats
- Left
- Throws
- Right
- Born
- 20 January 1964
- Birthplace
- Ocumare del Tuy, Venezuela
- Debut league
- MLB
- Debut date
- April 9
Facts from the source article.
Background
Guillén was a light-hitting, quick-handed shortstop, emerging from a line of Venezuelan shortstops that included Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio (both White Sox players), Dave Concepción, and Omar Vizquel (who Guillen later managed with the White Sox). He was originally signed as a free agent by the San Diego Padres in 1980. In December 1984, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox as part of an eight-player trade, with Tim Lollar, Bill Long and Luis Salazar in exchange for LaMarr Hoyt.
In 1985, Guillén was both the American League Rookie of the Year and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year, while also becoming just the third rookie shortstop in major league history to win a fielding title. He became known for his daring, aggressive style of play, as was demonstrated on August 2, 1985, in a game against the New York Yankees. With the game tied 5–5 in the 11th inning, Guillén hit a two-out single and, then proceeded to steal second base.
When the next batter hit an infield single, Guillén never hesitated as he rounded third base, catching the Yankees defense off guard and scored the game-winning run. In 1989, Guillén was the victim of a hidden ball trick twice. First on June 23 when Greg Brock tagged him out when Guillén, the runner at first base, took his lead, and then had to dive back to the base on a pick off throw from the pitcher. Brock held the ball instead of throwing it back to the pitcher, and when Guillén took his hand off the base to stand up, Brock tagged him out.
On August 5, Dave Bergman made the same play, holding onto the ball following a pick off throw. Guillén again dove to the base to beat the throw, and when he took his hand off the base to stand up, Bergman tagged him on top of the batting helmet without looking at him. On April 21, 1992, Guillén suffered a severe knee injury in a collision with outfielder Tim Raines. The injury caused him to miss almost the entire season, and subsequently diminished his defensive range as well as his stolen base output for the remainder of his career.
Guillén recovered in 1993 with his most productive season offensively, posting a .280 batting average, and he hit a career-high four home runs and had 50 runs batted in (RBI) in 134 games. The White Sox went on to win the American League Western Division title.
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