“My Team Was Playing Better When We Had That Problem”- Former White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen Nearly Came to Blows With GM Over ‘Personal Problems’

Retired baseball player and former manager Ozzie Guillen is famous or rather infamous for his temperamental nature. Guillen often got into controversies for speaking his mind and heart out. He never held a word back and got into many disputes throughout his life. One of Guillen’s most popular verbal battles was with Kenny Williams, then-General Manager of the Chicago White Sox. 

Ozzie Guillen began playing in MLB as a shortstop for the Chicago White Sox in 1985 for 16 seasons. Afterward, he went on to play for multiple MLB teams until his retirement in 2000. Guillen was a three-time All-Star player. Post-retirement, he guided and managed the Florida Marlins and the Chicago White Sox to World Series victories. Whereas Kenny Williams is presently the Executive Vice President of the White Sox. 

Guillen and Williams were part of a highly successful White Sox management group. The White Sox won the World Series under the duo’s management, but both had many opinion clashes towards the end of Guillen’s tenure with the White Sox. The prime reason Guillen decided not to renew his term contract. 

Ozzie Guillen and Kenny Williams: The pair that never got along 

At the time when Ozzie Guillen was the Manager of the White Sox, Kenny Williams was the General Manager. Professionally, they were an effective think-tank combination. But personally, they never got along at all. Their disputes took uglier turns as the partnership progressed. 

Both Guillen and Williams were equally passionate about their job. They shared an undying success on hunger. But they disagreed on numerous decisions, the most highlighted being the Juan Pierre issue. Appearing in an interview on the Graham Bensinger talk show, Guillen discussed the topic in detail. 

Talking to Bensinger about the quarrels with Williams, Guillen said, “That’s the passion for the game. That’s the passion to have success in life. And I think, besides, we got that back and forth. We learn as a person, we grow up as a person. We grow up as business people.” 

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Guillen added, “We have our personal problems in the pathway. We know about those problems on the field. Obviously, when people think there was. My team was playing better when we had that problem…. The only thing I was worried about, was how the team gonna react about that. They react pretty well.” 

The outcome of the never-ending disputes 

Guillen mentioned in the talk show that everybody was afraid, thinking he and Williams might kill each other. But then Guillen pointed out how that was a pointless thought. Guillen departed from his White Sox role and joined the Miami Marlins management staff in 2012. He currently is a studio analyst for NBC Sports Chicago, covering White Sox games.

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Do you support Ozzie Guillen’s decision to depart from the Chicago White Sox?