- Carlos Guillén
Infobox MLB player
name = Carlos Guillén
caption =
width = 300
position = Left fielder
team = Detroit Tigers
number = 9
bats = Switch
throws = Right
birthdate = birth date and age|1975|9|30
birthplace =Maracay ,Venezuela
debutdate = September 6
debutyear = 1998
debutteam = Seattle Mariners
statyear = August 8, 2008
stat1label =Batting average
stat1value = .290
stat2label =Home run s
stat2value = 103
stat3label = Runs batted in
stat3value = 571
teams =
*Seattle Mariners (by|1998–by|2003)
*Detroit Tigers (by|2004–present)
awards =
*3x All-Star selection (by|2004, by|2007, by|2008)Carlos Alfonso Guillén (born
September 30 ,1975 ) is aMajor League Baseball left fielder [http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2008/09/detroit_tigers_4_tampa_bay_ray.html] andswitch-hitter who plays for theDetroit Tigers . He was born inMaracay ,Aragua State ,Venezuela .Guillén was signed by the
Houston Astros as a non-draft amateur free agent in 1992. He was traded to theSeattle Mariners withpitcher Freddy García andJohn Halama in the deal that sentRandy Johnson to the Astros. Guillén made his debut in 1998 and was traded to Detroit at the end of the 2003 season.eattle Mariners
In Seattle, Guillén was forced to play second and third base with incumbent
Alex Rodriguez at shortstop. After the by|2000 season, Alex Rodriguez signed with the Texas Rangers, allowing Guillén to move back to his natural position. He had a league-average campaign in his first full-season with the club.In Game 3 of the
2000 American League Division Series , he hit a perfect squeeze play in the bottom of the ninth inning to scoreRickey Henderson and complete the Mariners' sweep of theChicago White Sox . In September 2001, Guillén was hospitalized after being diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, but he was ready for theAmerican League Championship Series against theNew York Yankees the following month.Detroit Tigers
In by|2004, Guillén joined a young and restructured Tigers team. In a career year, he led his club in RBI (97), runs (97), doubles (37), triples (10),
total bases (283),slugging percentage (.542), OPS (.921), and his .318batting average was only second to .334 of teammateIván Rodríguez . Guillén also got his first All-Star berth. However, his breakout season was cut short, as he missed the final month of the 2004 season after tearing his ACL while legging out a triple. He healed well during the 2004 05 offseason and was back to his previous form in time for by|2005's opening day, although problems with his lefthamstring kept him out of the lineup for much of the year. Guillén returned to elite status in by|2006 having another outstanding season. His on-base percentage reached .400 for the first time in his career, and he led all Major League shortstops with a .919OPS .On
August 1 ,2006 , Guillén became the tenth Tiger tohit for the cycle , in a game against theTampa Bay Devil Rays .In 2006, Guillén became the first player in modern Major League history to raise his average for six consecutive seasons, batting .320. In the field, however, he tied for the major league lead in errors at shortstop, with 28.
On
August 6 ,2007 , in the bottom of the 1st, he got his 1,000 hit, knocking inCurtis Granderson with two out.On
September 30 ,2007 , on his 32nd birthday, Guillen hit the 93rd home run of his career and it gave him 100 RBIs in a season for the first time in his career.In 2007, he had the lowest fielding percentage of all major league shortstops, .955.
Due to the acquisition of shortstop
Edgar Rentería from theAtlanta Braves during the 2007–by|2008 offseason, and due to his decreased mobility, Guillén initially moved tofirst base to start the 2008 season. However, onApril 22 , managerJim Leyland announced that Guillén would be moving to third base, withMiguel Cabrera becoming the new starting first baseman. [cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3362720 |title=Tigers move Cabrera to first base, Guillen to third |accessdate=2008-08-08 |work=ESPN.com |publisher= |date= ]On
September 27 , Tigers managerJim Leyland announced that Guillen will play left field in 2009. [http://www.mlive.com/tigers/index.ssf/2008/09/detroit_tigers_4_tampa_bay_ray.html]Personal life
Carlos has three children with his wife Amelia—two sons and a daughter. [cite web |url=http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080706/SPORTS02/80706028/1050 |title=Carlos Guillen is lone All-Star for Tigers |accessdate=2008-08-08 |work=Freep.com |publisher= |date= ]
References
External links
*baseballstats |mlb=136722 |espn=3944 |br=g/guillca01 |fangraphs=1079 |cube=G/carlos-guillen
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