Carlos Alfonso Guillén (born September 30, 1975) is
a Major League Baseball first baseman and
switch-hitter who plays for the Detroit Tigers. He
was born in Maracay, Aragua State, Venezuela.
Guillén was signed by the Houston Astros as a
non-draft amateur free agent in 1992. He was traded
to the Seattle Mariners with pitcher Freddy García
in the deal that sent Randy Johnson to the Astros.
Guillén made his debut in 1998 and was traded to
Detroit at the end of the 2003 season.
Coming from a long tradition of Venezuelan
shortstops, which has produced the likes of Chico
Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio, Dave Concepción, Ozzie
Guillén (no relation; Guillén is a common surname in
Venezuela) and Omar Vizquel, and the young stars
Alex González and César Izturis as well, Guillén was
forced to switch to second and third with incumbent
Alex Rodriguez at short. After the 2000 season,
A-Rod 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 ALDS, he hit a perfect squeeze play
in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Rickey
Henderson and complete the Mariners' sweep of the
Chicago White Sox. In September 2001, Guillén was
hospitalized after being diagnosed with pulmonary
tuberculosis, but he was ready for the ALCS against
the Yankees the following month.
Over the years, the holes in Guillén's swing have
gotten smaller, and some have disappeared
altogether. In the field, he has good range with a
strong arm and turns the double play reasonably
well.
Guillén showed the perfect components that fitted
together in a young and restructured 2004 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 .318 batting average was only second to .334 of
teammate Iván 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 2005's
opening day, although problems with his left
hamstring kept him out of the lineup for much of the
year. Guillén returned to elite status in 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 .919 OPS.
On August 1, 2006, Guillén became the tenth Tiger to
hit for the cycle, in a game against the Tampa 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 in Curtis 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.
With the acquisition of shortstop Edgar Rentería
from the Atlanta Braves during the 2007-2008
offseason, Guillén is expected to move to first base
during the 2008 season.
