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A Closer Look
Guillen's clutch single in 10th helps Braves back to Series
Posted: Wednesday October 20, 1999 02:29 AM
By John Donovan, CNN/SI
ATLANTA -- In his 15 years in the major leagues, Ozzie Guillen has stepped to the plate somewhere around 7,000 times. He's scratched out more than 1,700 hits in his 1,900-plus games, had all of 26 home runs and has never, ever hit more than .288 in a season.
Now, thanks to one memorable game-saving at-bat in the bottom of the 10th inning Tuesday night, the 35-year-old backup shortstop for the Atlanta Braves is going to his first World Series.
"He's been a pressure-type player through the years," said Braves hitting coach Don Baylor. "He's the one who's been in the game, even when he wasn't playing. He's the one cheering, knowing that when he gets his chance, he's going to have to make it count."
Guillen has not been much of a threat at the plate at any time in his career, and got only 232 at-bats this season, in 92 games, because of it. But Tuesday in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, with manager Bobby Cox pulling out all the stops to try to stop the New York Mets from tying the series, Guillen was called on to do something big.
Down 9-8 in a game they led 5-0 and 7-3, Cox motioned for Guillen to take starting shortstop Walt Weiss' turn at the plate. Andruw Jones had singled to lead off the Braves' part of the inning, and pinch hitter Ryan Klesko drew a one-out walk to push Jones to second.
That brought up Guillen against fireballing Mets reliever Armando Benitez. New York's big right-hander had been practically unhittable this whole series, striking out seven and allowing only one hit in 4 2/3 innings. The Braves were hitting a woeful .067 against Benitez.
But Guillen had hit Benitez hard in the 15-inning Game 5 marathon in New York, lining out to right field in a critical at-bat. He knew what Benitez had -- and Jones already had singled off him to start the inning.
So the left-handed swinging Guillen took the first pitch -- a fastball for a strike -- then promptly smacked the next pitch he saw through the hole on the right side to drive in Jones and tie the score at 9.
In the bottom of the next inning, Jones drew a bases-loaded walk off Kenny Rogers, giving the series to the Braves, four games to two, and sending Atlanta to its fifth World Series of the '90s.
"I was just trying to do my job, just trying to get a good at-bat," Guillen said. "When you come off the bench, that's what you have to do."
Guillen has been just as likely to try to slap a ball to the opposite field in any given at-bat, but Tuesday he was thinking fastball -- and thinking of pulling it -- the entire time.
It was the right call, at the right time, for the crafty old pro. As it turns out, it probably was his only choice.
"I think I'm a fastball hitter. A lot of people don't think I can get around on it, I'm too old," he said. "I was sitting on the fastball all the way. I have to. I cannot hit the breaking ball."
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