Ozzie Guillen Breaks a Baseball Barrier
Robert Heuer     [Photo]

Before the first game of the 101st World Series, Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio emerged from the dugout and embraced Venezuelan countryman Ozzie Guillén. The White Sox manager vanished into the media crowd as a swarm of reporters converged on Aparicio.

The initial question dealt with Guillén being the first Latino manager to lead his team to the World Series. Would this achievement open the door for others?

“I believe so,” Aparicio replied. Actually, his exact reply was: “Creo que sí.”

A stream of questions followed. Aparicio said he felt honored to throw out of the first pitch on behalf of fellow members from the White Sox team of 1959 — the last time the franchise reached the Series. With the Houston Astros’ pitching experience, Aparicio said he felt the White Sox wouldn’t have an easy time winning their first championship since 1917.

None of these comments were of any use to a Chicago television reporter who shouted: “Preguntas en inglés por favor.”

Yes, of course. The 71-year-old Venezuelan was glad to answer questions in English, too.

How things have changed since “Little Looie” was the 1956 American League rookie of the year. Latinos were then few and far between, with a defined role as humble outsiders, mere props on a national pastime stage headlined by native sons.

Aparicio’s generation led Spanish-speaking ballplayers to an increased personal respect. Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda and Juan Marichal were role models for the next wave, including a high school dropout named Oswaldo Guillén.

The slick-fielding, fast-talking shortstop won AL Rookie of the Year honors in 1985. Guillén never let his heavily accented English stop him from speaking his mind, a trait that made him highly unusual for Latinos who at the time represented about 10% of the major league ranks.

Cubans had managed before. Cardinal third base coach Mike González filled in briefly in 1938 and 1940. Preston Gómez had a six-year run that began with expansion team Padres in 1969. Yet, as Guillén began a 16-year major league career, the conventional wisdom was that Latinos lacked qualifications to manage.

Consider Felipe Alou who parlayed an excellent major league career into many years managing in the minor leagues and the Dominican winter league. He finally got the call and now manages the Giants.

Guillén benefited from helpful managers. Jeff Torborg, Jim Fregosi and Bobby Cox all taught him the ropes: communicate with your players, understand and execute strategy, and be adept in the daily give-and-take with the media.

After retiring in 2000, Guillén landed a job under Torborg coaching third base for the Expos. In 2003, he joined the Florida Marlins.

Marlin manager Jack McKeon liked the kid’s competitive streak and keen knowledge, but worried about his constant joking with players and fans. McKeon advised him to rein in some of that spontaneity because it fed the perception that he wasn’t serious enough to manage in the majors.

After the Marlins won the 2003 Series, Guillén landed the big job on his old team. He’d never managed, but was a fan favorite on Chicago’s South Side.

“I’ve known Ozzie for 20 years,” White Sox managing partner Jerry Reinsdorf recalls. “And he’d been acting like a manager ever since he was a rookie.”

Over the last two years, Guillén has proven to be a smart manager who communicates well with all his players. Indeed, aspiring Latinos will benefit from their multi-cultural experience. Guillén has helped unify a White Sox team that includes a diverse mix of whites, blacks and Latinos, as well as a rookie second baseman from Japan.

And he’s a delight for baseball writers who like to ask ballplayers softball questions like what was going through their mind on the field. To management’s occasional chagrin, Guillén often says exactly what he’s thinking.

He can be funny, impetuous, controversial and off the wall. But he’s always a good quote.

After Aparicio threw out the first pitch at the Series, Guillén was asked how he felt being the catcher. “I hoped he’d get the ball over the plate,” Guillén recalled, confiding that he wasn’t wearing a cup and worried that the ball would bounce and hit him in the crotch.

Guillén figures that his performance on baseball’s big stage will open management’s eyes to the abilities for other Latinos. As he told a Spanish-language media contingent, “Other Latinos have to develop themselves.”

Latinos are now one-quarter of the major league ranks, including the game’s most dominant players. It’s only a matter of time before other Latino major league coaches get the opportunity.

Candidates include Luis Sojo, José Cruz, Joey Cora, Juan Samuel, Manny Acta and Jose Oquendo. Look for Tony Peña, who managed the Royals, to get another chance. Many more Latino coaches are paying their dues in the minor leagues where Spanish-speaking players now account for 40 percent of the rosters.

Ozzie Guillén puts a face on the evolution of major league baseball, according to John Reyes, a Chicago-based, Columbian-American sportswriter who has covered baseball since the 1950s. Says Reyes: “Latinos are becoming baseball’s good old boy network.”

(Robert Heuer is an Evanston, Ill.-based journalist and consultant. He may be contacted by email at rjheuer@comcast.net)

© 2005, Hispanic Link News Service
10/30/05
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