Ozzie Guillen’s comments about Fidel Castro proved watershed for Miami Marlins in the season-Part 1
Miami Marlins never recovered following the Fidel Castro’s fiasco. Once their manager Ozzie Guillen committed the biggest mistake of his life by indirectly praising the Cuban dictator, the Marlins’ fate was sealed. Their failure became an unavoidable reality.
Whatever aims they entered the season with destroyed after the Marlins saw their attention thrust on issues which were not related with the actual task.
Inauguration of the New Marlins ballpark and the addition of stars on the roster was made insignificant by the Castro incident. Anything which the club tried to restore normalcy following this episode failed miserably.
The Manager who is supposed to be proactive and focused on getting players to unleash the best of their performances had left with nothing but to think, repent and curse the moment when he talked of Castro.
Task of organising strategies and developing the right combination of players for different matches for Guillen was replaced by the effort to control the damage and win back the trust of the fans.
The whole Havana community rose up against him and took to the streets calling for his ouster as soon as Guillen had spoken.
Realising the gravity of the issue, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig had to make a statement which attempted to ascertain that the political discussions do not become part of baseball. He categorically condemned the words of Guillen, terming them insensitive
to the emotions of the people. He pledged to discourage such a conversation and make sure anything like this never happens again.
"As I have often said, baseball is a social institution with important social responsibilities," Selig said. "All of our 30 clubs play significant roles within their local communities, and I expect those who represent Major League Baseball to act with the
kind of respect and sensitivity that the game's many cultures deserve."
Even the Marlins had to step up to clarify that Guillen’s comments had nothing to do with the official policy of the team. They elaborated that baseball does not stand for what Guillen said and that an official must be aware of his duties when he occupies
such a position.
"The Marlins acknowledge the seriousness of the comments attributed to Guillen," the statements from the team said. "The pain and suffering caused by Fidel Castro cannot be minimized, especially in a community filled with victims of the dictatorship."
Fans' emotions were so badly hurt that they cannot think of respecting Guillen again. No matter how strenuously Guillen worked later on for making sure they start respecting him, he could not get them on his side.
Those troubled by his comments wanted something more than just the five games suspension that was slammed on Guillen. They were h**l-bent to drive somebody who claims to represent their city in the Major League out of the club in order to make the Marlins
truly their own team.
Any element which is a threat to their emotions and can potentially aggravate their pains by speaking about such an unusual topic cannot remain in the club.
Guillen spent the entire season regretting that what on earth motivated him to spew such dirt from his mouth which cost him the heart-breaking humiliation in front of the whole world.
They say the calibre of the leader matters not the money and the resources that can be allocated for a team. A club hosting the stars on the roster but having a manager who is prone to paying more heed to externalities than baseball is destined to meet the
failure.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
Continued in Part 2
Tags: