Guillen ecstatic to visit Venezuela

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http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article...t=.jsp&c_id=mlb

 

Guillen ecstatic to visit Venezuela

Beloved manager enjoys giving back to native country

By Jesse Sanchez / MLB.com 

 

CARACAS -- Jose Luis Silva froze in his tracks on Estadio Universitario's concourse and immediately put out his right arm, simultaneously stopping and accidentally splashing his three children who were trailing him with his soda.

It was Saturday in the city. The Silva family was visiting the stadium, home of the Caracas Baseball Club, to catch a game between their beloved Leones and Tiburones de La Guaira when Jose nonchalantly looked to his right and caught a glimpse of a patriot signing a baseball.

 

"Mira! Es Oswaldo Guillen!" he pointed with delight. "Look! It's Ozzie Guillen!" is the version heard stateside, most often in the Windy City.

 

In the United States, Guillen is the manager of the World Series Champion Chicago White Sox. In Venezuela, he is the country's champion.

 

"Oswaldo Guillen was a great player when he played for the Tiburones and he always played every winter here, and for us that is special," Silva, 42, said. "For us, he was an idol. Now as manager and all that he has done, oof, he is a symbol of Venezuela. He represents us to the world. We are so proud. My kids admire him. We all admire him here for what he means to us."

 

"Oof" is Spanish slang, sometimes used like "wow," and seemingly always used simultaneously with a one-handed gesture that resembles a motion made after touching something hot. Talk about Guillen to the people of Venezuela and the "oofs" drop like crazy.

 

See Guillen in the World Series? Oof, how could I miss it?

 

Oof, what a job Guillen did with the White Sox!

 

Guillen, the oof King, has always been a prince in Venezuela in part because he has always been an open supporter of his country. On this rainy day at the stadium, the Venezuelan royal is visiting to sign autographs and support his friend, White Sox third base coach Joey Cora. Cora is the manager of La Guaira.

 

The night before, Guillen was honored as Manager of the Year by Venezuelan journalists and also attended a charity event. He is supposed to be in Venezuela to relax and spend Christmas with his family, yet he has an appearance scheduled for almost every day during the visit. He has a home in East Caracas, Chicago and Miami.

 

"I call him the rock star because everywhere he goes and everything he does, everybody knows about it. He's the man here in Venezuela and he deserves it," Cora said. "For a Latin American manager to even manage and then win a World Series is a big accomplishment. All Latin Americans should be proud of what he accomplished."

 

Cora should not be disappointed.

 

For two hours, Guillen signs autographs and takes photos from a desk on an elevated stage, half of the time in the rain, and the other half of the time in sunshine. The line to reach Guillen increases and decreases in intervals, in part because of fans like Silva who have no idea their idol is going to be at the stadium but are not going to miss the chance at getting close to Oswaldo.

 

"Oswaldo belongs to us," says Manuel Echezuria, 25, who like Guillen is from nearby Ocumare. "He's a hero."

 

The hero is busy on this day because Guillen signs everything. His wife, Ibis, is at his side directing traffic, and they work in unison like they have been preparing for this moment their entire lives. She hands him pens when his instruments run out of ink and she sometimes instinctively rubs his right autograph-signing forearm when she notices him shaking his hand furiously to fend off the tightness. He asks her what to do next and she points in one direction or another, making sure the procession goes smoothly. She is the manager's manager.

 

"It's not what I did. It's what I do," he said. "I try to help the people the best I can. It's something I feel proud about, and something I feel I have to do. You have to do nice things for the country and for the people around me."

 

Guillen tries. He jokes with fans as they stream by him, but he is more business-like than usual. He is careful not to spend too much time with one fan because he sees the long line and does not want to miss anybody.

 

Besides, it's raining.

 

"I do this because of the love they give back to me," Guillen said. "It's not easy to do this because Venezuela is in a real difficult time right now. There is lot of bitterness, and a lot of different opinions and different ways of thinking. There are a lot of individuals working for different reasons. This is something positive for people who need it."

 

Known for its petroleum, mountains, and beaches, among other resources, recent economic problems and political unrest have been issues for Venezuela. Even Guillen has had to choose between supporting President Hugo Chavez or defaming him. Guillen remains mostly neutral.

 

Hard to imagine the brash Guillen as politically correct? He has to be in Venezuela if he wants to accomplish his goal of helping his people -- either by events like autograph signings or fundraisers, or through his foundation.

 

"I get tired, but when you are from this country, and when the people love you the way they do, you appreciate it and you keep going," he said. "You feel proud. Thank God I have a lot of energy."

 

Guillen is also grateful to have his loved ones by his side. In addition to his wife, his sons, Ozzie Jr. and Oney are in Caracas. The young men are enjoying the fruits of their father's labor so much that Cora says the sons are having more fun than the father is. That's not a bad thing. In fact, it's a good thing, fitting of Guillen's desire to share the moment with everyone he loves.

 

"The way my dad is treated here is incredible," Oney said. "We go out to eat or get in our cars, we get mobbed. The way he is embraced is like Beatlemania. He jokes around a lot but he is very emotional about it."

 

"It's like a dream, I can't believe it," said Eire Adrinsa, Guillen's childhood friend who Guillen considers a brother. "You cannot get more proud of him than we all are. I see him walking and talking to everybody. He has made a lot of people proud and he is letting us all enjoy the success."

 

Indeed. Well, as much as Mother Nature will allow.

 

The rain at the stadium does not stop -- it eventually leads to the postponement of the Caracas-La Guaira game -- but Guillen keeps on signing until he reaches the last person in line. Security guards, not the Guillen family, eventually force their beloved Oswaldo out of the rain and off the stage for his own good.

 

Shielded by umbrellas, but still with his hands free, Guillen races to the "Zona VIP" or VIP Zone for the next round of meetings and greetings. The group that waits is more affluent than the people he just spent two hours with in the intermittent rain.

 

It makes no difference to Guillen.

 

"The thing I did in the States and the things I have done here are paying off," he said. "I will take a vacation later."

 

Oof!

[LosMediasBlancas]

To Oz and Venezuela

[UC76]

The article forgot to mention that another reason Ozzie is popular in Venezuala is because he has never thrown gasoline an anyone.