Ozzie Guillen the tweeter is apparently exactly the same as Ozzie Guillen the manager used to be.
The former MLB skipper Guillen took to Twitter on Wednesday to challenge baseball writer Jon Heyman to a fight. Heyman had called out Guillen in a recent post after Guillen, the ex-Chicago White Sox manager, criticized the current White Sox manager, Tony La Russa.
“Will be interesting to see if it’s possible to get someone’s job by insulting them on a postgame show,” Heyman wrote.
Will be interesting to see if it’s possible to get someone’s job by insulting them on a postgame show https://t.co/VvXe9YFRsh
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 12, 2022
Guillen then fired back at Heyman in a series of tweets.
“Hate me why?” wrote Guillen. “Because of bad English? Because I won? Am loud? Good looking? Rich? I don’t need to insult anyone to get a job. Maybe you think I do. Tired you putting me down. Maybe you think you can because your privilege and I am not?
“I have always defended Tony because I love the guy in many ways. So don’t talk s–t without knowing who I talk to and what I say,” Guillen continued in another tweet (profanity edited by LBS). “My wife will be piss[ed] and I have changed but you asked for it. You clown. You will never be better then [sic] anything you do in life including tv. Payaso.”
Finally, Guillen said that he was tired of Heyman using him as a “punching bag” and challenged him to throw some actual punches. He invited Heyman to get in “the ring” for a charity fight.
I apologize to @NBCSChicago and my family but tired of Jon Heyman using me as his punching bag. He is not here in Chicago he don't know anything stop lying stealing people money with bad stories. Am a man before it all and I won't let him insult me like that.
— Ozzie Guillen (@OzzieGuillen) July 13, 2022
Jon you hate me and always bad mouth me. Let's settle it. Let's raise money Jon me and you the ring. Whatever money we raise goes to charity. I am not perfect, but tired you hiding behind you a writer.
— Ozzie Guillen (@OzzieGuillen) July 13, 2022
Guillen, who managed in the league for nine years, is now 58, and Heyman is even older at 61. That means a fight will almost certainly never happen.
But it is already plenty entertaining to see the notoriously acid-tongued Guillen popping off again, a full decade after he last managed at the MLB level. Heyman now gets to join this fellow baseball writer as the lucky recipients of an all-time online rant from Guillen.
