White Sox TV commentator Ozzie Guillen addressed a past dispute with home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt following his team’s 9-0 loss to the Orioles on Tuesday.
Wendelstedt fired Chicago interim manager Grady Sizemore after a verbal altercation broke out between the two following some questionable ball and strike calls.
An angry Guillen, who played 16 seasons in the major leagues and coached nine more, used the dispute to reopen old wounds between himself and Wendelstedt. Wendelstedt is the son of Harry Hunter Wendelstedt Jr., who umpired for 33 seasons from 1968 to 1998.
“I wish I would have punched him in the face,” Guillen said of Wendelstedt during the postgame broadcast on NBC Sports Chicago. “He’s the first guy to throw me out of a major league game for no reason. His dad was a legend. I said, ‘You know what? You’re not a pimple on daddy’s butt.’ That’s what I told him.”
Guillen didn’t stop there and later made fun of Wendelstedt’s performance after the studio crew showed a video of the altercation between him and Sizemore.
“That guy is bad. Look how fat he is,” Guillen said. “He should be ashamed of wearing that uniform.”
Guillen, who has covered the White Sox, the worst players in the MLB, all season, may have been bubbling over with frustration.
Tuesday’s loss was Chicago’s 12th straight loss – their third losing streak of 12 games or more – dropping their season record to 31-109.
The most recent defeat was also extremely embarrassing.
The team dropped a routine pop-up in the bottom half of the second inning after left fielder Andrew Benintendi and infielder Miguel Vargas collided.
The White Sox are expected to lose 126 games entering Wednesday’s game, breaking the Mets’ modern record of 120 losses in a single season set in 1962.