It’s well known in the baseball world that Ozzie Guillén has the biggest mouth in the majors.
Never one to shy away from publicity, Guillén recently made comments pertaining to the treatment of Latin baseball players comparing it to the treatment that Asian players receive.
His stance is that Asian players are given more privileges, and that he’s the only one in baseball that’s doing anything to educate young Hispanic players about performance enhancing drugs.
I’ve never been a fan of Guillén. Actually, I’ve never liked him much at all. He says things to satisfy either his need for attention or to ignite a meaningless firestorm in the media and the people surrounding his club.
People like me tend to write off what Guillén says because he is portrayed as a hot head that impatiently declares whatever is on his mind, no matter how inflammatory his comments may be.
I’ve come to realize, however, that organizations need people like Guillén.
Occasionally the man will say something that, despite how egregiously misguided it may seem, sheds light on an issue that deserves attention.
This is not one of those times.
I don’t know what’s Guillén’s upset about because the last time I checked, Latin players were pretty well taken care of in the majors.
Case in point: The best player in the league, Albert Pujols, is from the Dominican Republic. The best player on the best team in the American League is Alex Rodriguez, who is also from the Dominican Republic. The best player on the best team right now in the National League, is Adrian Gonzalez, who is from Mexico.
The list literally goes on and on. It makes sense considering that Latin baseball players make up nearly a third of the Major Leagues.
Guillén ‘s point is as difficult to understand, as is half of the things that he says.
As a Mexican-American, I get where Guillén is coming from. There are certain social problems and trends that probably influenced what he said, namely, the Arizona immigration situation and whatnot.
Guillén is from Venezuela and his English isn’t the best. Whatever prejudices he feels Spanish-speaking people in America have to face, he believes must be present everywhere.
And naturally, as a person of Hispanic descent, Guillén flips out when he was made aware that Asian players get to have translators because he’s projecting whatever injustices he feels in the real world, to Major League Baseball.
Guillén is completely wrong on this. I defy you to find one Major League Baseball team that doesn’t have at least one proficient English and Spanish speaker.
Asian players are significantly less prevalent in the Bigs than Latin players and Guillén knows that.
But he can’t stand to see other minorities getting benefits that Latin people don’t necessarily get.
He has failed to overlook that the sport of baseball saves countless Latin players from poverty by paving the way for them to receive paychecks that would dwarf any CEO’s.
You would think that Guillén, the first Latin-born manager in the history of baseball to win a World Series title, would be aware of the contribution that Latin players have made to the game and just how prevalent their influence is.
I think it’s safe to say that someone in that group can serve as an able interpreter.
As far as performance enhancing drugs are concerned, you can only do so much educating before it becomes a matter of morals, or lack thereof.
Baseball is doing all they can to shut the door on the Steroid Era and I think they’ve been doing an admirable job.
If Guillén thinks he was left alone in the task to educate Latin players about performance enhancing drugs, then he made a serious error in judgment.
One of the bigger awards that Major League baseball gives out is the Roberto Clemente Award, named after one of the game’s most celebrated figures who happens to be from Puerto Rico.
Whoever wins that award must possess a combination of prowess on the diamond, altruism in the community, and qualities of refined character.
Guillén would do well to follow Clemente’s model.
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