Ozzie Guillen Says Latino Players Need to Be Held by the Hand

It is unfortunate that Ozzie Guillen had to be the spokesperson for the Latin American baseball player. Guillen has come out and said that Asian baseball players are treated better than Latino baseball players in MLB. It might be the case but Ozzie Guillen would the last person I would want going around holding up the flag for my camp.

Ozzie Guillen annoys me and most everybody else. He may speak a lot of truth but in the end we lose sight of the issue because of the man who happens to be speaking about the issue.

There is no doubt that Latino players may struggle when it comes to assimilating to our culture but they are big boys. They can handle it. They can hit a baseball going 100 mph. With a little bit of effort on their part they will eventually learn what they need to get by in America. Ozzie Guillen is basically saying they need to be coddled and held by the hand to make it in America. They have no way of doing it themselves.

I was listening to ESPN radio today and John Kruk was talking about how a certain Latino player ordered a hot dog everyday for every meal for almost a month because he could not say anything else. I hated Spanish in high school. It was just not something I picked up on easy. That same year I went to Mexico for a week and had no problem ordering at very authentic Mexican restaurants. I mean order something different and if you don't like it then don't order it next time. Just like in the Major League's, minor league baseball players are given an allowance for meals, albeit much smaller. Eat the continental breakfast in your motel and then you have $25 to spend on 2 meals. If you do not like your first one, order again. Ozzie thinks this is to tough for the Latin American baseball player, though.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I do not feel sorry for any professional athletes at any level. If I moved to Mexico I would not expect my workplace to teach me how to speak Spanish. I would buy the software and learn Spanish myself, if I so desired. I would also expect the people I work with to help me out when given the chance and I would hope that MLB and Minor League players would do the same for Latino players.

This maybe a very real issue regarding Latino players and their assimilation to our culture but unfortunately Ozzie Guillen just happens to be waving the banner and that turns everybody off.