José Guillén

José Guillen
Kansas City Royals – No. 6
Right Fielder
Bats: Right Throws: Right
debut
April 1, 1997, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Career statistics (through June 6, 2007)
Batting average	.272
Hits	1105
Home runs	150
RBIs	611
Teams
Pittsburgh Pirates (1997-1999) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1999-2001) Arizona Diamondbacks (2002) Cincinnati Reds (2002-2003) Oakland Athletics (2003) Anaheim Angels (2004) Washington Nationals (2005-2006) Seattle Mariners (2007) Kansas City Royals (2008-present)

José Manuel Guillén (pronounced [ɡiˈʎen]) (born May 17, 1976 in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball right fielder who plays for Kansas City Royals.

In 2004, Guillén 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].

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 boofed then came all over Manuel's own face then 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.

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 Martinez. 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.[2]

Guillén has since signed with the Mariners to play outfield and designated hitter. 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's hard-nosed style and great work ethic have helped the Mariners return to the playoff hunt in 2007 after being absent in the previous several.[3]

In 2007, he had the lowest fielding percentage of all AL right fielders, .972.

In 2007 it was reported that in 2003 Guillen had performance-enhancing drugs sent directly to him to the Oakland Coliseum. [4]

On December 4, 2007 he signed with the Kansas City Royals. His signing might move Mark Teahen to first base, and Billy Butler to designated hitter. He was suspended for the first 15 games of the 2008 season on December 6, 2007 just hours after passing his physical exam.

See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• Washington Nationals all-time roster
• Tampa Bay Devil Rays all-time roster
• Arizona Diamondbacks all-time roster

External links

• ESPN - profile and daily updates
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference