Ozzie Guillen’s time as manager of the Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins was turbulent, to say the least. In Chicago, Guillen frequently clashed with then-GM Kenny Williams, leading to him leaving town in 2011 to manage the Marlins for the 2012 season. In Miami, Guillen lasted just one season as a high-priced team failed to meet expectations, while Guillen himself came under fire for controversial comments praising Fidel Castro.
In a recent profile by the Chicago Tribune, Guillen says he’s ready to come back, nearly five years after his dismissal by the Marlins, which he’s spent outside of Major League Baseball.
“Do I want to manage in the big leagues? Yes, because Ozzie Guillen is nobody to say no,” Guillen said. “I’d say 90 percent of me is yes, 10 percent is no, I want to play golf instead of being at the ballpark dealing with (stuff). Sometimes when I am on my boat or it’s 40 degrees out there, I say to my wife, ‘Thank God I’m not managing.’ But, yes, I want to do it because, as I said, nobody’s bigger than the game to say I don’t want to manage.”
Guillen also discussed his lack of off the field issues, which makes sense given that the only thing to ever get him in hot water (repeatedly) was his mouth.
“The people who hate me are the people who don’t know me,” Guillen said. “You want to hire me, talk to me. Get to know me, the real me. Don’t believe what you hear. I’ve had a lot of time to think. I’m honest, and that’s the part people hate about me. But I never do drugs, never got a DUI, never beat my wife, pay all my taxes. My three kids all went to college and have good jobs. I came here with nothing and built a life. … A lot of people do other (stuff) and people say nothing. I never did the wrong thing. I meet people and then they’re like, ‘You’re a better person than I thought. I used to hate you.'”
He’s also seemingly learned his lesson from the Castro incident, admitting that he’s largely kept quiet about the disastrous political climate in Venezuela because of the blowback he got when discussing Castro in Miami.
“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen in my life,” Guillen said. “People in Venezuela say to me, ‘Why are you not speaking out?’ And I say, the last time I spoke about politics, I got in trouble and nobody protected me so I’m saying nothing. Do I love my country? Yes. Before you got here today … I am a very tough guy to cry but I sat there with my wife, watching people in Venezuela talk about the country, and I’m crying like what the (expletive) is that?”
So, will Guillen get a job? That’s hard to say, of course – he’s been out of the game for five years and hasn’t been linked to any jobs in recent years. But he did win a ring in 2005, and also claimed the AL Manager of the Year award that season. Going several years between managerial stints isn’t unheard of – Terry Collins went over a decade before getting the Mets job – and a team that is searching for a spark and a new voice (like say, maybe Collins’ Mets) could actually be a good fit for Guillen.
We’ll just have to wait and see what happens. However, I don’t think Guillen is going to be blackballed from the majors forever.
