Ozzie Guillen fired as Miami Marlins manager after 1 season
The Miami Marlins baseball team suspended manager Ozzie Guillen five games for his comments about Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Miami will donate Guillen’s salary to charity.
A new ballpark, new name and new money couldn’t save the Miami Marlins from the same old fate.
So they fired their manager.
Ozzie Guillen is leaving south Florida after just one dreadful season managing the Marlins (although he’s taking all of his $10 million with him).
The Major League Baseball club said today they have fired Guillen.
“After careful consideration following the disappointment of the 2012 season, we decided to dismiss Ozzie,” team president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said on the Marlins’ website.
“Our managerial search begins immediately and our hope is that a new manager, along with roster improvements, will restore a winning culture.”
Miami finished last in the National League East division with a 69-93 record. The franchise has made the playoffs twice in 20 seasons, and Guillen was the fourth manager since 2010.
Guillen signed a four-year, $10-million contract before the season began after Miami traded two prospects to his former club, the Chicago White Sox, for his services.
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Guillen guided the Sox to a 2005 World Series, but in nine seasons as a manager he’s amassed an ordinary 747-710 record.
He was also third-base coach when the Marlins won the 2003 World Series, and said he felt like he was “back home,” The Associated Press reported.
Guillen was expected to help revitalize the team after the club transformed from the Florida Marlins to Miami along with a new stadium, new uniforms and new color scheme that better reflected the area’s Latino influence.
Ownership also spent big on the field, signing shortstop Jose Reyes, left-handed pitcher Mark Buehrle and relief pitcher Heath Bell to a combined $191 million in contracts.
Instead, the team fell flat almost immediately and Guillen found himself infuriating Miami’s Cuban fans a short time later by praising dictator Fidel Castro.
The often cantankerous Venezuelan-born Guillen served a five-game suspension as a result.
“That was a very, very hard situation for me and the people around me,” Guillen said last month, the Miami Herald reported.
“It was maybe the worst thing I ever did.”
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