A lot of people are calling this baseball's dirty little secret. False. Baseball's dirty little secret was steroids. It was dirty. It was not little. But throwing at batters is a simple fact of baseball. It has always happened. It is always going to happen. No matter how much MLB tries to curb it, players and managers will do it. The real secret here is that Ozzie Guillen isn't just some foul-mouthed nut.
Guillen admitted to throwing at batters in the past but denied doing it against the Royals on Sunday. Looking at the circumstances, I believe him. He may cuss like a sailor and overreact at times, but he's the only one out there speaking the truth about what goes on in the league.
"You think I’m going to bring somebody in to hit somebody and they’re going to throw a fastball 82 (mph) at the hands? I’m going to bring in my best guy and make sure he gets it done. That’s Major League Baseball. That’s baseball. That’s the baseball I grew up with. Not the shit they play right now."
The bases were loaded with one out. Who in their right mind would tell a pitcher to bean a batter in that situation and allow a run to walk in? Not Ozzie, and I'm pretty sure no manager in the majors would be stupid enough to make that call.
Say what you will about Ozzie. Call him a brute for admitting to throwing at hitters in the past. But take a look at every other manager in the league and think of what they'd tell you if they were off the record.
