‘I Wish I Punched Him in the Face!’ Ozzie Guillen Goes Ballistic on ‘Fat’ Umpire for Bad Strike Calls
Former Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen held nothing back after the team fell 9-0 to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night.
The White Sox are historically bad, having dropped their 12th straight game to go to 31-109 on the season. They are on pace for the most losses since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders lost 134 games. For comparison, the infamously bad 1962 New York Mets lost 120 games, and Chicago is on pace to surpass that ignominious mark.
Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt was behind home plate on Tuesday night and, according to the White Sox announcers, was bad all night. During Andrew Benintendi’s at-bat in the sixth inning, Chicago interim manager Grady Sizemore blew up at Wendelstedt over a second strike call that was nowhere near the zone. Not surprisingly, the umpire ejected Sizemore and gave him a “Fuck you!” for good measure.
Two pitches later, Wendelstedt rang up Benintendi on a pitch that, again, was not really close. The left fielder gave Wendelstedt the business before he too was run from the game.
John Schriffen has a question after White Sox manager Grady Sizemore and LF Andrew Benintendi are ejected by Hunter Wendelstedt on consecutive pitches.
“Where are these automatic umps?” pic.twitter.com/Ha5IWe2YlT
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 4, 2024
During the team’s postgame show, Guillen, who managed the White Sox to the 2005 World Series title after playing shortstop for the team for 13 years, went ballistic.
“I wish I punched him in the face!” Guillen said after the game.
“You have a history with him?” host Chuck Garfien asked.
“First guy [who] kicked me out of the game in the big leagues with no reason,” Guillen said before complimenting Wendelstedt’s “legend” of a father, Harry Wendelstedt, who was an MLB umpire from 1966 to 1998. “I say, ‘You know what? You’re not a pimple on your daddy’s behind.’ I told him that.”
Guillen went on to claim that the younger Wendelstedt asked him, “Do you know who I am?”
Guillen, Garfien, and analyst Frank Thomas then rewatched Wendelstedt’s argument with Sizemore.
“He just gave an f-bomb,” Garfien noted.
“I swear to God,” Guillen responded. “Yes he did.”
“He’s bigger than the game,” Garfien joked.
“He’s bigger than anything,” Guillen said. “Look at how fat he is. Look at how fat he is. He should be embarrassed [to] wear that uniform.”
Watch above via NBC Sports Chicago.
