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| José Guillen | |
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| Kansas City Royals — No. 11 | |
| Left Fielder | |
| Born: May 17, 1976 San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic |
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| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| April 1, 1997 for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through July 2, 2008) |
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| Batting average | .274 |
| Hits | 1321 |
| Home runs | 179 |
| RBIs | 734 |
| Teams | |
José Manuel Guillén (pronounced [ɡiˈʎen]) (born May 17, 1976 in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Kansas City Royals.
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Professional career
Pittsburgh Pirates
Guillén was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent on August 19, 1993. He made his Major League debut on April 1, 1997.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
On July 23, 1999, Guillén along with Jeff Sparks was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Joe Oliver and Humberto Cota. On November 27, 2001, after two injury plagued seasons with the Devil Rays, the team released him.
Arizona Diamondbacks
On December 18, 2001, Guillén signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played in only 54 games for the Diamondbacks before being released on July 22, 2002.
Colorado Rockies
Guillén was signed by the Colorado Rockies on July 29, 2002, but was released just three days later on August 1, before playing in any games.
Cincinnati Reds
On August 20, 2002 Guillén signed with the Cincinnati Reds.
Oakland Athletics
On July 30, 2003, Guillén was traded by the Reds to the Oakland Athletics for Aaron Harang, Joe Valentine, and Jeff Bruksch. After the 2003 season he became a free agent.
Anaheim Angels
On December 20, 2003, Guillén was signed by the Anaheim Angels. In 2004, he hit .294 with 27 home runs and 104 RBI for the Anaheim Angels, but he was suspended the last two weeks of the regular season and during the postseason for "inappropriate conduct" in publicly expressing his displeasure with Angels manager Mike Scioscia following Scioscia's removal of Guillén in favor of a pinch runner during a crucial game against the Oakland Athletics.[1]
Washington Nationals
On November 19, 2004 he was traded to the Washington Nationals for shortstop Maicer Izturis and outfielder Juan Rivera. The move sent Guillén to his sixth team in just five seasons.
In 2005, Guillén began his season strongly. In April, he batted .303 with 6 home runs and 14 RBIs. The Nationals were impressed and on April 29, they exercised his option for 2006.
On June 14, 2005, the Nationals began a three-game series against the Angels, who were still helmed by Mike Scioscia. This marked Guillén's first return to Anaheim since being traded. Going into the series, both Guillén and Scioscia kept a civil tone publicly, each indicating that the past was behind them and claiming that they held no hard feelings toward one another. However, the tensions below the surface were exposed when, during the second game of the series, Angels pitcher Brendan Donnelly was found with illegal substances on his glove.
Donnelly was ejected from the game, and Scioscia came out of the dugout and exchanged hostile words with Nationals manager Frank Robinson, who had instigated the search of Donnelly's glove. The confrontation led to both teams' benches being cleared as all of the players streamed out on to the field. As he was being restrained by fellow Nationals players, Guillén shouted angry words at the Angels, a number of whom made it clear that they felt their former teammate had been the one who told Robinson to have Donnelly's glove examined. (Several weeks later, Guillén would acknowledge that he had indeed done so.)
In the eighth inning of the same game, Guillén hit a two-run home run to tie the game, and the Nationals went on to win. After the series' final game, Guillén blasted Scioscia and acknowledged that despite his earlier statements to the contrary, he was in fact still hurt over what had happened at the end of the 2004 season.
- I don't got truly no respect for [Scioscia] anymore because I'm still hurt from what happened last year . . . Mike Scioscia, to me, is like a piece of garbage . . . He can go to hell . . . I can never get over about what happened last year. It's something I'm never going to forget. Any time I play that team, Mike Scioscia's managing, it's always going to be personal to me.[2]
Nevertheless, Guillén remained as a crucial ball player for the Washington Nationals. In 2005, he hit .283 with 24 home runs and 76 RBI for Washington.
In 2006, he was involved in an incident with Pedro Martínez. Martinez hit him with a pitch twice, and after the second time Guillén charged the mound, only to be held back by Paul Lo Duca and umpire Ted Barrett. Guillén appeared in only 69 games and hit only .216 with 9 homers and 40 RBI. On July 25, 2006, he was diagnosed with a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, which would require ligament replacement surgery.[3]
Seattle Mariners
Before the 2007 season Guillen signed with the Seattle Mariners. His swing, which is very balanced and natural, moved him up in the Mariners' lineup to hit in the coveted third spot during May 2007. Guillen helped the Mariners return to the playoff hunt in 2007 after being absent in the previous several.[4]
In 2007 it was reported that in 2003 Guillen had performance-enhancing drugs sent directly to him to the Oakland Coliseum.[5]
Kansas City Royals
On December 4, 2007 Guillen signed a 3-year, $36 million dollar contract with the Kansas City Royals. His signing moved Mark Teahen to left field, and Billy Butler to designated hitter. He was suspended for the first 15 days of the 2008 season on December 6, 2007 just hours after passing his physical exam.[6] His 15-game suspension was rescinded on April 11, 2008; after the MLB Players' Association and MLB owners agreed on modifications to the current drug testing program. As a result of the agreement, all players implicated in the Mitchell Report were given amnesty.
In a game on August 26, 2008 in Kansas City against the Texas Rangers Guillen was involved in a confrontation with a fan in the stands just past the Royals dugout down the first base line. He made vulgar gestures and yelled profanity at the fan who had reportedly been heckling him for his lack of hustle. His coaches and teammates had to restrain him as he made his way towards the fan. The fan was removed from his seat.
See also
- Top 500 home run hitters of all time
- List of Major League Baseball players suspended for performance-enhancing drugs
- List of Major League Baseball players named in the Mitchell Report
References
- ^ "Angels suspend Guillen without pay for rest of season ". USA Today. Retrieved on 2008-09-04.
- ^ Svrluga, Barry (June 16 2005). "Sparkling debut for Nats' Drese", Washington Post.
- ^ "Nationals right fielder Jose Guillen has successful UCL reconstruction surgery on right elbow ". MLB.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-04.
- ^ "Mariners targeting ex-Nat Guillen Seattle considering veteran for role as designated hitter". MLB.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-04.
- ^ "Clubs at mercy of circumstances beyond their control". ESPN.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-04.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick. Royals slugger Guillen suspended Royals.com, 6 December 2007.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
