Winning a championship this season is Jose Guillen’s top priority. A day after he was acquired for a player-to-be named from the Kansas City Royals, the Giants’ new outfielder is rearing to go.
“I am very motivated. I like this playoff atmosphere. I’m very excited to be here,” says Guillen before today’s game against the National League West Division-leading San Diego Padres. “I want to show people that there’s a lot of Jose Guillen left in me and I want to try to help this team win a championship.”
Guillen got a taste of postseason play as a member of the 2003 Oakland A’s. In four American League Division Series, he collected five hits in 11 at-bats against the Boston Red Sox. He played through the stretch drive with a broken hand.
Guillen arrived in San Francisco around 11 p.m. last night from Florida and was not in today’s starting line-up. As much as manager Bruce Bochy wanted to get Guillen’s bat in the game, he also wanted to give the outfielder time to settle in and get acclimated. Guillen has not played since Aug. 5 when the Royals designated him for assignment.
The 34-year-old outfielder is expected to start tomorrow where he’ll patrol right field. His arrival means that Aubrey Huff, who has split time between right field, left field and first base, will become the regular first baseman. Bochy has not decided exactly where he’ll bat Guillen but says that it will most likely be in the fifth or sixth spot.
Guillen, who has often been labeled as a hot head, says that he is excited to come to work for Bochy and the Giants. He says he’ll fit in “just fine”.
“The chemistry here – it’s all good,” says Guillen, who rejoins former teammates Barry Zito (Oakland) and Aubrey Huff (Tampa Bay). “I talked to Bochy, too. He’s my type of manager - the passion he has. It’s a good combination.”
Guillen was hitting .255 (101-for-396) with 16 home runs and 62 RBI in 106 games for the Royals this season.
The 14-year Major League veteran owns a career batting average of .270 (1,557-for-5,760) with 300 doubles, 211 home runs and 872 RBI in 1,608 big league games with Pittsburgh (1997-99), Tampa Bay (1999-2001), Arizona (2002), Cincinnati (2002-03), Oakland (2003), Anaheim (2004), Washington (2005-06), Seattle (2007) and Kansas City (2008-10).
