Tag Archives: Ozzie Guillen

Miguel Cairo & Carlos Mendoza Make MLB History as First Venezuelans to Manage Against Each Other

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Miguel Cairo and Carlos Mendoza have made Major League Baseball history.

The 51-year-old Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder and current interim manager for the Washington Nationals and the 45-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball manager for the New York Mets became the first Venezuelans in MLB history to manage against each other.

Miguel Cairo & Carlos Mendoza“It’s two countrymen, friends, and now to be exchanging the lineup at home plate, we’re excited about it. We’re proud to represent the Latinos in the United States, represent our country in the United States, and of course represent our organizations,” Cairo said before his club’s 8-1 loss. “To me, it’s a dream come true.”

Mendoza was hired by the Mets after the 2023 season, becoming the third Venezuelan manager in major league history. Cairo became the fourth when Washington promoted him to interim manager in July after firing Dave Martinez.

“It’s just an honor for both of us,” Mendoza said. “I’m humbled by it. You know, this is a big deal back home. I didn’t recognize that until it was brought up to me.

Before the game, Cairo and Mendoza posed for photos behind the plate with their arms around each other’s shoulders, then embraced before returning to their respective dugouts. After the first pitch, the game ball was taken out of play, bound for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Cairo and Mendoza both have ties to the New York Yankees organization. The Yankees were one of nine teams Cairo played for during a 17-year career, and Mendoza was a longtime coach with the organization before the Mets hired him. The two overlapped when Cairo worked as a Yankees minor league infield coordinator.

Ozzie Guillén was the first Venezuelan to manage in the majors. He led the Chicago White Sox from 2004-11 and won a World Series title in 2005, then managed the Miami Marlins in 2012. Al Pedrique was Arizona’s manager for half of the 2024 season, but the Diamondbacks and White Sox did not play each other that year.

Asked if he was surprised the milestone had not come sooner, Cairo said the path to becoming a big league manager was difficult for everyone.

“You have to through the minor leagues, you have work your way up. You have to really work,” he said. “Nothing is easy and you’ve got to earn it. And, you know, he earned it. I think I earned it.”

 

Joey Cora to Become Third-Base Coach for New York Mets

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Joey Cora has Mets his match…

The New York Mets are on the verge of hiring the 56-year-old Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball player, who had an 11-year career in the MLB, as their new third-base coach, ESPN reports, confirming a report by the New York Post.

Joey Cora,

Cora, the older brother of Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora, spent five years as third-base coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates before being let go at the end of the 2021 season.

In New York, he’ll become the first coach hired under Buck Showalter, who took over as the team’s manager less than three weeks ago.

The Mets retained Jeremy Hefner as their pitching coach but are still in the process of filling vacancies at bench coach, hitting coach and first-base coach, among others.

Cora was a major league middle infielder from 1987 to 1998, making an MLB All-Star team late in his career, then transitioned into coaching shortly thereafter. Cora began as a manager in the Mets’ minor league system and later spent eight years with the Chicago White Sox under Ozzie Guillen, winning a World Series as the team’s third-base coach in 2005. Cora was also Guillen’s bench coach with the Miami Marlins in 2012 and has often interviewed for managerial jobs throughout his post-playing career.

Cora will now replace Gary DiScarcina, who was let go amid the shake-up that followed the firing of former Mets manager Luis Rojas. Rojas is now the New York Yankees‘ third-base coach, while DiSarcina has the same position with the Washington Nationals.

Guillen Named Marlins Manager

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It’s official! Ozzie Guillen will be leaving Chicago’s South Side and moving to South Beach, where he’ll lead the Florida Marlins.

“It’s a big, big step in my career, a new chapter,” says the Venezuela-born former Major League Baseball player about being named the Marlins’ new manager. “Hopefully I can bring energy, flavor and enthusiasm, but the most important thing is a winning team.”

 
The announcement didn’t come completely out of left field. Shortly after stepping down as manager of the Chicago White Sox, Guillen’s website leaked news that he’d agreed to become the Marlins’ manager. The post was quickly removed, but not before the word was out.

After a successful career as a player—including earning American League Rookie of the Year and All-Star honors—Guillen moved into coaching. In 2004, he became the manager of the White Sox and brought the team its first World Series championship in 88 years, becoming the first Hispanic manager in major league history to win a World Series.

Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, who wanted an experience a manager to replace 80-year-old Jack McKeon, hopes Guillen can lead the team to the World Series after a disappointing last-place finish this season.

“I think we can turn it around next year,” says Loria, who signed Guillen to a four-year contract. “When you have a — for lack of a better word — category five manager, it’s going to happen.”

Meanwhile, the team will be moving to a new ballpark near the city’s downtown area, where they’ll become the Miami Marlins.