Ozzie spews off yet again, thoughts?

I think Guillen makes a decent point, but I don't think it's as blatantly bad as he makes it. I read a comment somewhere (I think on that same Yahoo article) pointing out how there are so few Asian players in MLB that it almost necessitates them to have a translator. One exception I can think of is the Red Sox when they had Takashi Saito and Daisuke Matsuzaka, but otherwise I think there aren't that many Asian players who are on the same team, so it's harder for them to adjust to the language as easily.

Are Latinos, then, at that much of a disadvantage? One can make the case that there are many more Latino players in MLB so it would be a lot easier for them to associate with each other on a team and learn the culture. As for learning English, I do think that ballplayers should offer ESL classes or something to all players who don't speak English as their native language, regardless of race (I do think that language and culture are slightly different). I don't see why ballclubs can't hire translators for Latino players though. If Asian players can get translators easily, why not Latinos?

As for PEDs, I think it's a matter of the baseball culture in the countries that players come from. I can't say for sure, but I haven't seen a case of wide PED use in Asian countries, and I've seen more instances in countries where Latino players come from. But again, that's from what I've seen. There could be more PED use in Asia than I think, and there might be less PED use in countries like the Dominican Republic. Still, I think all players should learn equally about why they should avoid PEDs; there shouldn't be emphasis in one area or region over another.

Basically, I think that the issue is not as black-and-white as Guillen makes it, but there are some valid points he makes that should be equally addressed among all players, whether they're Latino, Asian, white, black, etc.

What do you guys think?

Ozzie is an idiot. Fortunately, though, he's a loud idiot. Loud idiots make sports more entertaining because they always say stupid things.

I'm sure the reason that Latino players don't get translators is because it's a lot easier to be a Spanish speaker in the US than it is to be a Japanese speaker in the US. Every team has multiple players who speak Spanish, and many of them speak English as well. And even if they don't, it's pretty easy to find people in the US who can translate Spanish into English. By contrast, very few teams have Japanese players, much less multiple Japanese players. So there's nobody else to translate.

Anyway, major leaguers are rich, so they can afford to hire their own damn translators if they want them.

For the record, I'm not saying it isn't hard to be a Latino playing baseball in America. I'm a white guy who doesn't play baseball, so I have no idea if it is or not. But I am saying that Ozzie's comparison was out of line, and at the very least he used a bad example to back it up.

Ozzie makes some points (as usual) but also overlooks some important differences.

The Japanese players are mostly coming to the majors after already having done their time in the minors and as fully developed major leaguers. They are older and have not really ever been exposed to English.

The Latino players on the other hand start playing in major league systems while in their late teens. As they develop through the minors they have the opportunity to absorb English and the culture that the Japanese players do not. In addition almost every team will have players who know both English and Spanish who can help with the translations. Most teams, at least until very recently, do not have anyone who speaks both Japanese and English so they have to hire outside translators.

Having said that, I think MLB and the minor leagues can do a better job of helping young Latino players get adjusted to their new circumstances.

As for the PEDs, if Ozzie is the only one teaching young Latinos to not do PEDs then he should be addressing the entire Latino community within the game and asking where is the leadership on this issue within the community and not be trying to blame the English-speaking community for all their problems.

Oh Ozzie, sweet Ozzie, Running your mouth again aren't you?.

Anyways, He make some good points in there with the PED's and what not.

But I don't think he realizes that Latin players do have translators: Their teammates that speak both Spanish and English. Same with Japanese players.

There are less Japanese players in the majors then there are Spanish people. More than likely there's a chance someone's going to speak Spanish then they would Japanese. Therefore, Japansese players need the translators more than the Spanish people.

And Ozzie's not the only one that talks about PED's to the players, there's probably more people besides Ozzie talking about PED's. If he's the only one talking about it to these players, something's wrong here.

Like I said, Ozzie did make some good points with what he said, but in a way he's wrong.

Japanese people do have to work just as hard if not harder than Latin people.

first, Spanish is a much more commonly designed language to English than Japanese... or any Asian language for that matter is much more complicated in its dialects/grammar/styles than all of those in the Western hemisphere

second, like everyone else said... there is enough bilingual Spanish players to go around whereas someone like Ichiro or Matsui simply don't have that "luxury" so they are simply being given the same rights.

third, Ozzie tries to hard to create his own prerogative... being 'real' and speaking 'the truth' is not always an outright justifiable thing when concerning the proper conduct. Yeah and that White Sox show is a bust too, I waited 2 damn months for it to finally be televised and when it is, what a big disappointment. they should stick to baseball and quit with the reality TV, its making a fool of Sox orginization.

That's completely untrue, Latinos get translaters if they need them, but some teams have so many latinos anyway they don't need them. Where Asian players are fewer and far between and speak different languages. I think Guillen is just doing what he does best and trying to stir the pot.

I don't care. I'm a Cubs fan but Ozzie is hands down my favorite manager. Whether it be the truth or not, Ozzie will tell you exactly how he feels. Even if you don't like it, You have to respect it. Most people in his position feel like they need to be politically correct with whatever they say, Ozzie doesn't care. His players love him for it.

Ozzie is latino so i think he was just trying to defend his race and Asian players aren't treated better.

Why would MLB need Spanish translators? Half of MLB speaks Spanish, translators everywhere! Actually I think last year, Robinson Cano was Melky Cabrera's unofficial translator for the media. Name a team without a bilingual player.

Ozz is feeling good about the club. He is a master for drawing the media to him when the team is going well.