You know when Ozzie Guillen opens his mouth it’s going to be good. The guy is a walking quote and a magnet for controversy.
In his latest rant against society, baseball and world in general, the White Sox skipper says that Asian players are given more privileges in the United States than Latinos. He also thinks it’s unfair that Japanese players are assigned translators when they come to America, but Latinos aren’t afforded the same luxury.
“Very bad. I say, why do we have Japanese interpreters and we don’t have a Spanish one. I always say that. Why do they have that privilege and we don’t?” Guillen said Sunday before Chicago played the Oakland Athletics. “Don’t take this wrong, but they take advantage of us. We bring a Japanese player and they are very good and they bring all these privileges to them. We bring a Dominican kid … go to the minor leagues, good luck. Good luck. And it’s always going to be like that. It’s never going to change. But that’s the way it is.”
He goes on.
“And we had 17 Latinos and you know who the interpreter was? Oney. Why is that? Because we have Latino coaches? Because here he is? Why? I don’t have the answer,” Guillen said. “We’re in the United States, we don’t have to bring any coaches that speak Spanish to help anybody. You choose to come to this country and you better speak English.
And on.
“It’s just not the White Sox, it’s baseball,” he added. “We have a pitching coach that is Latino, but the pitching coach can’t talk about hitting with a Latino guy and that’s the way it is and we have to overcome all those [obstacles]. You know why? Because we’re hungry, we grow up the right way, we come here to compete.”
And on.
“I’m the only one to teach the Latinos about not to use,” he said. “I’m the only one and Major League Baseball doesn’t [care]. All they care about — how many times I argue with the umpires, what I say to the media. But I’m the only one in baseball to come up to the Latino kids and say not to use this and I don’t get any credit for that.
There’s more, which you can read at ESPN.com, but you get the crux of his argument.
