• Ozzie Guillen played baseball the way it should be played: hustling all the time, doing the little things, adding occasional razzle-dazzle along with a bit of hot-dogging that didn'toffend anyone. He liked to eavesdrop around the batting cage, then suddenly knock someone's cap off and run away.
• When Oz made the last out of an inning, he would fake taking jump shots or running hook shots at the umpires, who made imaginary basketball hoops with their arms.

• When he was 10 and his parents divorced, Ozzie's mother had to leave his father to take a job 50 miles from his home town. So hiss uncle, Ernesto, took him into his home to live. 

  Ernesto had taught Luis Aparicio to play SS and he taught Ozzie the same.

• Growing up, Ozzie says, "My hero was my Dad. The player I looked up to was Davey Concepcion." Guillen was a fan of the Big Red Machine.
• Guillen says that his school stopped in the seventh or eighth grade, as he recalls. He signed to play pro baseball when he was 16 years old.

• Asked how much of a bonus he got to sign, he said, "I got about $750 and I gave it to my Mom. That was a lot of money for us. I had never had a check for so much money. I didn't need it and I told my parents to do whatever they needed. I bought some clothes to come to the States because you have to be dressed up sometimes in the minor leagues. I think the rest of the money my Dad spent in two days."

  FINDING HIS WAY TO THE BIGS

• Guillen and former Phillie and White Sox first baseman John Kruk roomed together as they rose through the San Diego Padre organization. The Venezuelan-born Guillen credits Kruk with helping him adjust to life in the U.S.A.

  "He was my roomate for three years. He taught me how to speak English, he taught me how to drink beer," Ozzie said with a laugh.

• Guillen signed at age 16, and reported to minor league camp in Bradenton, Florida, the next spring. After one year there, he and John Kruk climbed the ladder together: Class a Reno, Class AA Beaumont and Class AAA Las Vegas.

  "He's crazy," Guillen said of Kruk. "But he helped me a lot. He's got a big heart. We'd drive for 24 hours on road trips and he'd always worry: How did I feel, did I get enough to eat, was I thirsty? I didn't have a TV, so when we went on the road, he gave his TV to my wife so she could watch it while I was gone," Guillen says. "He'd help me find an apartment, call the telephone company—stuff you do at the beginning of the season."

• Guillen is colorful and always kidding around. Off the field, he is relaxed and vibrant even with a stranger. He is both engaging and stunningly candid.

  "The way I am got me here," Ozzie said shortly after being named Manager of the White Sox for 2004. He makes it clear he sees no reason to change his approach. "When I get pissed, I will get pissed."

  "I told the Padres that I got word from home that my mother had been killed and that I needed to go home," Guillen relates. "They felt really sorry. They came to me and said, 'Ozzie, we will get get you on the first plane home.' And they gave me $3,000. So I went home. When I got home, I told my Mom, 'Here's a couple thousand dollars.' When I left, she told me, 'Play hard, but don't kill me anymore.'"

  Tom Romenesko, Padre Director of Player Development, says he found out a couple of years later that Guillen wasn't telling the truth. "It's a funny story. Ozzie was 17 at the time. I have a great deal of respect for him. He's a good kid," Romenesko said.

  HIS THREE SONS

• Ozzie and wife Ibis have three boys: Oswaldo, Oney, and Ozney. Oney is a big Orioles fan. He used to walk defiantly around the White Sox clubhouse wearing an O's cap.
• Guillen's sons are all involved in athletics. "Ozzie likes basketball. Oney is a very good shortstop, and Ozney likes to play all kinds of sports," Ozzie said.
• In May 2004, Oney graduated from high school. He then went on to the University of Illinois-Chicago, playing baseball.

• In January 1990, Ozzie had a part in a mini-series soap opera on Venezuelan TV. He played the lead role in a love story.

• Guillen wears uniform #13 to honor fellow Venezuelan SS, former Cincinnati All-Star Dave Concepcion. "In the minor leagues, I always wore number nine," Ozzie recalled. "But when I got to the Majors, they'd retired that number in honor of Minnie Minoso. Since my hero, Davey Concepcion wore #13, that's what I asked for."

• After his life-long friend, former Major Leaguer Gus Polidor, was shot to death while trying to stop a thief from stealing his car and kidnapping his young son, Guillen adopted Polidor's family.

  "I will be a father to his three children, and they will all move into my house," Guillen says. In the summer, when Ozzie's wife and three kids come to Chicago, so do Polidor's wife and kids. Guillen also wrote an open letter to the people of his native Venezuela. "I don't know how many people like Gus need to die in Caracas before we stop what we're doing. The Venezuelan people need to love each other, to care about each other."

• Ozzie provides an affable personality and a fine influence on younger Latin players in a clubhouse.

• Ozzie's former teammate, Robin Ventura, talked about how superstitious Guillen is. "Ozzie has got a lot of things in his locker you don't want to see," Robin said, smiling at the thought of his old teammate.

• He brings a lot of wisdom to the table. After he slowed down physically, he was able to keep up because of the level of intelligence he hadacquired.

• Guillen was asked how Christmas is different in Venezuela.

  "The only difference is that we party. I mean, we really party. We start partying from December 20 all the way until January. It’s a real holiday. Christmastime here in the United States is different because we only celebrate it a couple of days. We party for 10 or 20 days straight in Venezuela.

• "We spend Christmas on the beach, which is a little different from Chicago. We don’t have a white Christmas, and we never will. But it’s great to have Christmas where you can stay on the beach all day."

• Early in the 2004 season, Guillen joked about how his own English could have been stronger if not for the influence of one of his closest confidantes, throughout his playing career.

  "My best friend is Bainesy (bench coach Harold Baines), and he never said anything," Guillen quipped. "That's why my English is broken."

• Guillen was named 2005 A.L. Manager of the Year.

• On Ozzie's 42nd birthday, on January 20, 2006, he became a citizen of the United States. Was it better than winning a World Series?

  "Winning the World Series was not my dream, it was my goal," Guillen said. "This is my dream. Do you know how many people die every week trying to be an American? It's not an easy thing to do."

• After the 2007 season, Ozzie went to Spain for a vacation.

• Ozzie proudly boasts that he is not a fan of Wrigley field saying "What's wrong with saying I don't like this ballpark?" Guillen said. "You ask any player which one they like less and they might throw in some names. Ask me about it, and this is the one I pick.

  "It's a museum. They like to come to Wrigley Field. I don't say people don't like to come here. I say Ozzie don't like to come here."

• On April 27, 2011, Ozzie was thrown out of a game vs. the Yankees following the top of the first inning, for using profanity while arguing balls and strikes. He then went into the clubhouse and commented on Twitter following the ejection which, according to a league press release, "violated Major League Baseball's social media policy and other regulations regarding the use of electronic equipment during the course of a game."

  After returning to the clubhouse, Guillen took to Twitter, first writing, "This one going to cost me a lot money this is patetic (sic)." Moments later, he added, "Today a tough guy show up a Yankee Stadium." For that, he was suspended two games and fined an undisclosed amount (reportedly $20,000).

  "When I talked to Major League Baseball, I knew exactly where they are coming from, what they want, the integrity of the game, the respect of the game," said Guillen. "It's something they don't want to get out of hand, and I completely understand."

  The announcement was made by Joe Garagiola, Jr., MLB's senior vice president of standards and on-field operations.

  "I think the conversation [with Major League Baseball] was great," said Guillen. "They told me why they were going to do it. Do I regret it? No, not in that moment. The only thing I regret is that I'm going to leave the team by itself for two days.

  "I've had a lot of conversations with Major League Baseball over the years. This was the best one I ever had."

• April 10, 2012: Guillen was suspended by the Marlins for five games because of comments he made about Cuba's Fidel Castro.

  "I hurt a lot of people's feelings, a lot of victims," Guillen said. "I've apologized twice and I meant it. I  hurt a lot of people's feelings, a lot of victims," Guillen said. "I say a lot of things and I never apologize but now I have to because I did the wrong thing. I'm behind the Cuban community. ... How am I going to make it better? ... I'm going to show the community that I support them 100 percent."

• Feb 1, 2019: Imagine this Major League Baseball scenario playing out somewhere, six or seven years down the line.

  Actually, the teams and locale aren't as important to this story as the fact both managers will have the same last name: Guillen. On one side is Ozzie Guillen, who had a historic eight-year run as White Sox manager, including a 2005 World Series championship, before one year managing the Marlins in '12. He's going against Ozney Guillen, who, at the youthful age of 27, has joined the Astros' organization as manager for Class A Short-Season Tri-City of the New York-Penn League.

  The youngest of Ozzie and Ibis' three sons played for his father with Los Tiburones in the Venezuelan Winter League, and the elder Guillen admitted to being a bit nervous when his son was at the plate. Just imagine the feelings brought about managing against him. "I would kick his [butt]," Ozney said with a laugh during an interview with MLB.com from the Dominican Republic, where his career with the Astros already has started. 

  Ironically, Ozney's most recent connection to the Astros came when the White Sox finished their 2005 World Series sweep. There's a heart-warming scene of Ozzie, Jr., Oney and Ozney hugging their dad in the Minute Maid Park visitors' dugout seconds after Juan Uribe's throw to Paul Konerko for the final out. 

• Like most things for the tight-knit Guillens, this is a family accomplishment. Ozney became emotional during the phone interview when explaining how he shared the life-changing news with his mother. "I told my mom, 'We did it,' and it was awesome," Ozney said. "My parents have worked so hard to put me in this position. My dad has taken so much criticism from everybody. I just thank them every day. This would never have been possible without them."

  This managerial move officially took place for Ozney in January 2019. He was at home watching reruns of The Office when he received a call from the Astros. He had gone through three interviews -- the first job interviews of his life -- and even met with Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow. But Ozney had an initial feeling this was a courtesy call, with maybe an offer of another position not in coaching.

  "When I got drafted, I didn't cry. When I got my manager's job, I cried," said Ozney, who also had interest from the Phillies and Rockies. "This is my goal. I don't call it a dream. It is my dream, but it was my goal."

  "We feel more proud about that than anything in the game," said Ozzie during his White Sox return last weekend for SoxFest. "That's one of the best news I have in the game, because he did it himself. He opened his own doors."

• After being selected in the 22nd round of the 2010 Draft by the White Sox, Ozney elected to go the collegiate route with two years at Miami-Dade College and one year at St. Thomas University. Stints with Normal, Sioux Falls, Bridgeport, Ottawa and New Britain in Independent, unaffiliated baseball followed, but when his left shoulder popped out in Venezuela for a third time this past season, he opted to forgo surgery and refocus his dugout life.

  "My last season in Independent ball was more [that] I needed one more year of just living this life of playing," Ozney said. "But it was the way of the universe telling me, 'You are ready. It's your time. Go do it.' "In my head, I'm like, 'You are not going to be a big league baseball player. You know this. But you could definitely be a big league manager or coach,' and that's definitely really cool."

  Ozney grew up in baseball talking nuances of the game with everyone, from then-managers Jeff Torborg and Jack McKeon to what he called "Hall of Fame of coaches" Greg Walker, Harold Baines, Tim Raines, Joey Cora, Alex Cora and Perry Hill. His desire to be a manager came as early as age 16, but Ozney went about this process methodically to help figure out his best fit.

  He created and sent out resumes, and reached out to baseball figures such as J.J. Lally of the White Sox, Boston manager Alex Cora, Desi Wilson of the Cubs, Raines, Josh Bonifay, Jorge Velandia, Houston hitting coach Alex Cintron and Justin Jirschele, a 28-year-old managerial success in the White Sox system, not looking for a job but looking for input. They felt this bilingual, erudite young man was ready for his first professional challenge.
  
  
  "I'm rooting for him, obviously," Ozzie said. "He has his mind in the game, and he's going to do what he loves to do. He's got a chance to be good."

  "Playing baseball was cool, but I'm so much more excited now for my career," Ozney said. "[The Astros] just want to mold me and make me better. They care, and as a first-year manager or coach or anything, that's literally all I can ask. I'm so grateful for this opportunity. They've given me so much confidence in myself that 26 years of living in this baseball world has never given me." (S Merkin - MLB.com - Feb 1, 2019)

PLAYING CAREER NOTES

• Up until the 1998 season, Ozzie was known as a true hacker. A fine bat-handler, Ozzie rarely went more than three pitches into the count. But at the end of his career, in 1998 with the Braves, Guillen was reborn as a patient hitter. He began accepting a base on balls for the first time in his career.

• In explaining his ability to avoid strikeouts despite his tag as a free-swinger, Ozzie said: "You cannot strike out with one pitch. That's why I'm the toughest guy to strike out, but I was the toughest guy to walk, too."

• "I keep my head down and try to hit everything up the middle," Oz said. But he still would swing at any pitch that was in the same Zip code as he was in.

• He was that type of hitter most dreaded by pitchers: a free swinging contact hitter who did not care what kind of ball he hit as long as it's a baseball. He liked the ball up and he liked the ball down, but he liked it much better if it was hard and straight—a fastball. Pitchers could make him look pretty bad with slow stuff, though. And leftys got him out with low breaking stuff.

• He could bunt for a base hit and get out of the batter's box quickly.

• Ozzie had very good range and was sure-handed. Fine arm and turned the DP well. He was one of the best shortstops in the game, especially before his knee surgery in 1992.

• Ozzie knew the hitters and how to play them.

• He had a lot of fun playing.

• He used a child's glove while working out at shortstop. "It helps me stay down on the ball," he said.

• Super-quick release. He got the ball to the second baseman quicker than anybody in the American League.

• Ozzie was a master at the phantom double play. He also was great at shouting false fielding instructions that tricked the opposition's baserunners.
  
  He made the double play well and led with a fiery attitude.

• Ozzie credits Jeff Torborg with starting him on the road of leadership that led to his eventually becoming White Sox manager. When it came time to name a captain, Torborg chose two. There was Carlton Fisk, the 41-year-old catcher on his way to the Hall of Fame. And there was Guillen, the scrawny shortstop who was all of 25.
  
  "A lot of guys in that clubhouse respected Ozzie's knowledge of the game, his instincts and his enthusiasm," Torborg recalled. "In order to be a leader, somebody has to follow."
  
  They were together just three seasons in Chicago before Torborg left for the Mets, but the two stayed in touch over the next decade. Guillen retired after the 2000 season and went home to Venezuela, unsure what to do next.
  
  In May 2001, Torborg was hired to replace Felipe Alou as the Expos' manager. His first call was to Caracas.
  
  Actually, it was Jeff's wife Suzie who made the call because her Spanish is better. It took some doing, but she finally tracked down the right Ozzie and handed the phone back to her husband. Torborg asked Guillen whether he'd like to come to Montreal and be one of his coaches.
  
  "When do you want me?" Guillen shot back.
  
  No talk of salary or roles or future prospects. If his mentor needed him, that was good enough for Guillen.

• Guillen credits Padre GM Jack McKeon for developing him from a shy kid who spoke no English, to the player—and character—he is today. "Jack  hit me a thousand ground balls every day in the instructional league. It worked."

• Ozzie won his first Gold Glove in 1990.

• Ozzie had excellent speed. He was a good, even daring, runner. He'd take the extra base.
  
  13 YEARS WITH THE WHITE SOX

• In December 1984, the Padres traded Ozzie to the White Sox, along with P Tim Lollar, Luis Salazar and P Bill Long, for P Lamarr Hoyt, Kevin Kristan, and Todd Simmons.

• Ozzie was the 1985 AL Rookie of Year.

• In 1988, he set the Chisox assist record (570) and led the Majors in total chances (863).

• In August 1997, when Ozzie found out his friend Harold Baines was traded by the White Sox to the Orioles, he smashed a clubhouse TV.

• With the White Sox, Ozzie ranks fourth on the team's career list for games played (1,743) and fifth on the club's all-time hit list (1,608).

• In 1990, Ozzie and C Carlton Fisk were named co-captains, the first time the White Sox had named anyone to the post in 60 years.

• At the start of his career, when he was playing instructional lleague ball for the Padres, Ozzie was tired of playing baseball and wanted to go home to Venezuela and practice volleyball for his country's national team.

• Guillen played 13 years on the South Side of Chicago, earning three trips to the All-Star Game. He was known as much for his chatter as his reliable glove and disdain for taking walks.
  
  "He always had something going with Rickey Henderson," former Yankees pitcher Dave Righetti said in 1995. "He distracted him. Finally, Willie Randolph got up at a clubhouse meeting and said, 'Don't talk to that guy anymore. He takes you out of your game.'"
  
  END OF PLAYING CAREER

• Guillen signed with the Orioles, January 29, 1998.
  
  He was released by the Orioles May 1, 1998. He had not performed well for them, at the plate or in the field.
  
  But on May 6, the Braves picked him up.

• The Braves released Guillen, March 31, 2000. But he signed with the Devil Rays five days later.

• Ozzie was released by Tampa Bay at the end of 2001 spring training.
  

MANAGERIAL/COACHING TRAITS

• Guillen's style has been combared with that of Tony Pena, manager of the Royals. "We have the same attitude. We were the same type of player," said Guillen of Pena. "He manages the way I'd like to manage. I think you have to be friends with your players, and that's how you get the best you can get out of your players.

  "I learned a lot from Bobby Cox. I went through a lot of good managers. Jack McKeon, I got a little bit of everybody."

• When Ozzie was named White Sox Manager, he gave GM Kenny Williams direction on what kind of players he likes:

  "I don't want any egos on my team and I don't want selfish players,'' said Guillen, who was given a two-year contract with a team option for a third season. "I told Kenny, 'Give me bad players who want to win, don't give me good players that don't care. Give me good kids who want to bust their butts for us and don't give me guys who just want to make $20 million to $30 million next year.' The players know the way I feel about them.''

• Guillen has an infectious personality and superb motivitional skills.

• Ozzie told his pitchers early in 2004 spring training that there has to be a reason for them to throw at a hitter.

  "We had meetings in spring training about that,'' Guillen said. "I said, 'If you want to hit somebody because they're kicking your butt, then you're going to have to fight by yourself. I'm not going to have one of my players hurt because you got mad.'

  "I feel if someone does something unprofessional or disrespectful, drill the guy. But don't drill him just because you're mad. Get him out. I'll make the call otherwise. I'll take the responsibility.'' (Joe Goddard-Chicago Sun-Times-4/26/04)

• After his playing career, he always said wanted to be a manager. He knew he would have to put in some time first as a coach, and that was fine with Ozzie.

• Guillen has one important rule: Don't miss the playing of the National Anthem. The fine is $500.
  
  "That's the thing that pisses me off the most," Ozzie says in his thick accent. "Two reasons. If you're not from this country, you should respect the anthem even more than Americans because you should feel pleased you're here. And if you're from this country, you should have respect for people who are dying for it. This is a great country. It has the right of free speech. That's why a lot of countries have problems, because people can't speak for themselves."

• Ozzie likes his water cold, his language blue, and his communication direct. White Sox general manager Kenny Williams is not fazed by the verbiage from this man who stands up for his players.
  
  "The bottom line is, I didn't hire someone for Hewlett-Packard, IBM or any other FORTUNE 500 company. I hired a baseball manager," Williams said. "This team needs some toughness and someone with pride, someone with a love of the organization. And if that gets in the way of being politically correct, so be it. I got his back on those times." (Michael Farber-Sports Illustrated-5/16/05)

• Handling pitchers often is considered the most difficult part of being a manager, and Guillen had to develop his own style. He picked the brain of Atlanta's Bobby Cox when he played for the Braves and said one thing he has learned on the job is that the strength of the staff often dictates the manager's "genius" status.
  
  "You have to go by your [gut] feelings," Guillen said. "I know a lot of people looked at me and said, 'How is Ozzie Guillen going to handle his pitching staff?' That's the first thing I told [general manager Ken Williams]: Give me a good pitching staff.
  
  "It's easy to handle things when you have a good pitching staff. Now when you have a [terrible] pitching staff, that's hard to handle because no matter what you do, you're going to be wrong. If you give me a good pitching staff, [people say], 'He's a genius.' Why? Not because I am, but because I have a good pitching staff."

• Guillen said he doesn't pattern himself after any particular manager because every manager manages according to the strengths and weaknesses of his own club. He pointed to Yankees manager Joe Torre, and said if he had relievers Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera in his bullpen like Torre, he might not have left his starters in to complete Games 2 and 3 of the 2005 American League Championship Series "because they're that good."

• Ozzie treats the stars and the bench players the same -- he really does. Guillen even said he doesn't really like to manage "superstars."
  
  "I'll do it the rest of my life," he said. "When [a manager] starts to lose the players, they deserve to be fired. I don't [care] if I get fired. I have a lot of money, and if I get fired, I'll get another job the next day. The next day, I'll be wearing somebody else's uniform."

• Unique in this day and time, Guillen is not shy about criticizing his players to the media.

  "Every time they see me in the clubhouse, they go, 'Vroom! Under the bus!"' Guillen said with a laugh. "But there's one thing about me: I will tell my players the truth, and they know it.

  "Now players make so much money and they think they can do whatever they want to do. They say, 'If I'm late, he can't do anything to me because you're not going to bench me, not going to release me, not going to trade me.' Well, with the White Sox it's a little bit different because I don't care how much money you make, I don't care how good (you are), if you don't go by my book, you're not going to play for the White Sox.

  "I worry about 25 guys, not one. I will treat Paul Konerko the same way I treat Pablo Ozuna: with respect, loyalty and trust. Once in a while we're going to need Pablo Ozuna to play for us, not Paul Konerko. The only thing that's different is every 15 days they've got a different paycheck. But by my rules they're all the same." (Patrick Saunders-Denver Post-10/17/05)

• Ozzie pretty much ignores scouting reports and computers. The desk in his clubhouse office is only slightly larger than a TV snack tray to underscore his lack of interest in paperwork, and limits his inventory of in-game information to two laminated two-by-three cards.

• Interviewed by HBO's James Brown for "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel," Ozzie was his free-and-easy self. In the interview that aired in February 2006, Ozzie said that the night before he met with general manager Ken Williams, he celebrated the Marlins' World Series victory with Pudge Rodriguez. Guillen had been Florida's third-base coach.
  
  Brown: "Did you do a lot of reading? Rehearse your answers?"
  
  Guillen: "No, I was hung over."
  
  Brown: "You did what?"
  
  Guillen: "I was hung over."
  
  Brown: "No, you weren't."
  
  Guillen: "Just because, we just win the World Series. I was at Pudge Rodriguez's house, and we had a party all night to celebrate the World Series."
  
  Asked about what makes a good manager: "Nobody's a good manager. Nobody. With all due respect, people forgot Joe Torre, he was a losing manager all his life until he got to New York. What's he got? Great players. Phil Jackson, it's a funny thing, we go, 'He's great.' You got Michael Jordan and you got Scottie Pippen … You're not good. You got good players."
  
  On what makes the Sox so successful: "I got A.J. Pierzynski. Everybody hates him. Carl Everett? Everybody hates him. Ozzie Guillen? Everybody hates him. But all of a sudden, those guys put their uniform on, it's like one unit. I said, 'I don't care if you get along, but when you got the uniform on, you've got to take care of each other.'"
  
  On speaking his mind: "I like trouble. Why not? A lot of people have their way to say stuff. I got my way. You know, all those little things about the game. People don't face it. Attack. Attack. I never take the first punch, never. Believe me, you throw me rocks, I'm gonna F-16 and just try to kill you. That's my style."

• Ozzie was in full "Ozzie-form" as spring training got underway in February, 2006. Speaking in the February 20 edition of Sports Illustrated, Ozzie fired some shots:
  
  On other Major League managers: "People say, 'Joe Torre: genius.' 'Greatest manager ever: Tony La Russa ... Lou Piniella.' I say they're not good baseball managers. Nobody's a good baseball manager. They talk about Jim Leyland: 'Oh, my God, Jim Leyland...' Jim Leyland quit! Sparky Anderson? Sparky Anderson was horse[bleep] for 10 years with Detroit.
  
  "If you don't have a good ballclub, you're not going to be a good manager. People forgot Joe Torre lost with St. Louis and the Mets. The New York Yankees? I could manage that team. Lou Piniella, the best ever? Why don't you win with Tampa Bay? My point is not that he can't manage his ass. It's just that you have to have the team. I'm not a good manager. I'm good people. Nobody was a good manager. Ever.''
  
  On his managerial philosophy: "Most managers say what people want to hear because they're afraid to lose their jobs. And they kiss people's asses. I don't. I've got my money. Fire me? I'll show you I don't need you. I might not get hired again? I don't give a [bleep].''
  
  On his intelligence: "There's two kinds of education: book smart and street smart. You put me in Harvard at the podium to talk to people graduating, I know what I have to say, and I know how to say it. But you put Bill Gates in the middle of Caracas, Venezuela? He will [bleep] his pants. He will die.''
  
  On freedom: "We've got the best cars in the United States, and you've got to go 55 miles an hour. You have a party at your house, there's someone at your door because the neighbors don't like it. You say something about color, religion or preference about sex, you're in trouble. What kind of life are we living here? You work seven days a week and get paid for four because of taxes, and you don't have a right to say anything?''
  
  On becoming a U.S. citizen: "I'm rich because of the United States, not Venezuela. My sons got a great education because of the United States, not Venezuela. I'm 42 years old, and I've lived 26 years in this country, not Venezuela. That doesn't mean I'm not a Venezuelan. But you think this is not the greatest country in the world? Prove me wrong. Tell me why we don't have Americans going to live in Venezuela and why we have Venezuelans coming to live here.''
  
  On Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez: "I'm more Venezuelan than Chavez is because I represent Venezuela. He's our leader, but you ask people who they'd rather have [running] the country? They're going to vote for me.'' (Sports Illustrated-February 20, 2006)
  

• Guillen talked about his leaving the White Sox and becoming the Marlins' manager: "If you are engaged to a girl for eight years and she asks if you're going to marry her and you say no, then it's not going to work. I wanted to stay with the White Sox, but they didn't want me. The Marlins wanted me," Ozzie said.
  
  On his relationship with White Sox GM Kenny Williams: "On the field it was good. But the last two years, off the field, it was not good. It was unhealthy for the team. It was unfair to the players because we put ourselves between them."

• Ozzie says he doesn't like the DH in either league. "I have a bulldog and named him DH because he is so lazy. He just sits there, eats and sleeps."

POST-PLAYING CAREER POSITIONS

• June 2001: Guillen joined the Expos as First Base Coach, joining new manager Jeff Torborg's staff a few days after Torborg replaced Felipe Alou as Montreal skipper.

  After the 2001 season, Ozzie handed in just five names on his end-of-season team evaluation. "They're the only ones who can play," he said.

• 2002: Ozzie became the Florida Marlins Third Base Coach, as the entire Montreal coaching staff moved to south Florida. He stayed through the Marlins' World Championship season of 2003.

• November 3, 2003: The White Sox named Guillen as their Manager. Ozzie is the first Venezuelan-born manager in baseball history.

  Guillen is the 37th manager of the White Sox in history, and the 15th former Sox player to lead the team.

• May 30, 2005: The White Sox extended Ozzie's contract through 2009. Ozzie had a unique spin on the pact:

  "The money is great, but all the money is for your family," Guillen said with a smile. "All your money goes to your kids and your wife, whether you want it to or not. If you die, they're going to take the money. If you get divorced, they're going to take the money. I've been working since I was 16—that's 25 years for them. Now, I'm just trying to make this organization better."

• September 11, 2007: The White Sox signed Ozzie to a four-year contract extension, through 2012.

• September 26, 2011: The White Sox let Guillen "pursue other interests" as a manager, letting him go.

  September 27, 2011: It was confirmed that the Marlins sent Jhan Marinez and Osvaldo Martinez as part of the compensation for allowing Ozzie to join their team as first manager of the newly-named Miami Marlins.

  September 28, 2011: Ozzie signed a four-year contract to be the manager of the Marlins. Sources said the deal is worth about $10 million, or about $2.5 million per season, through 2015.

  October 23, 2012: The Marlins dismissed Guillen as manager. The team went 69-93 in 2012, finishing last in the NL East.

  "After careful consideration following the disappointment of the 2012 season, we decided to dismiss Ozzie," Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said in the team's announcement. "Our managerial search begins immediately and our hope is that a new manager, along with roster improvements, will restore a winning culture."

• March 24, 2014: ESPN announced Ozzie would join the "Baseball Tonight" crew as an analyst.

• April 22, 1992: Ozzie tore two ligaments in his right knee in a collision. He collided with left fielder Tim Raines on a bloop double by the Yankees Mel Hall. Guillen missed the rest of the season.
• 1993: He had his right knee scraped of scar tissue immediately following the ALCS, which the White Sox lost to Toronto.

• March 16, 2005: Ozzie underwent a heart catheterization and the team said the test didn't reveal any blockages.