Position Shortstop Team Detroit Tigers Years of Experience 8 years Age 30 Height 6 ft 1 in Weight 180 lb Bats Both Throws Right College N/A 2005 Salary $4,000,000 Place of Birth Maracay, Venezuela Selection Amateur free agent, 1992. Drafted by Houston Astros Major League Debut September 6, 1998

Carlos Alfonso Guillén (born September 30, 1975) is a Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitter who plays for the Detroit Tigers. He was born in Maracay, Aragua State, Venezuela.

Guillén was signed by the Houston Astros as a non-draft amateur free agent in 1992. He was traded to the Seattle Mariners with pitcher Freddy García in the deal that sent Randy Johnson to the Astros. Guillén made his debut in 1998 and was traded to Detroit at the end of the 2003 season.

Coming from a long tradition of Venezuelan shortstops, which has produced the likes of Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio, Dave Concepción, Ozzie Guillén (no relation; Guillén is a common surname in Venezuela) and Omar Vizquel, and the young stars Alex González and César Izturis as well, Guillén was forced to switch to second and third with incumbent Alex Rodriguez at short. After the 2000 season, A-Rod signed with the Texas Rangers, allowing Guillén to move back to his natural position. He had a league-average campaign in his first full-season with the club.

In Game 3 of the 2000 ALDS, he hit a perfect squeeze play in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Rickey Henderson and complete the Mariners' sweep of the Chicago White Sox. In September 2001 Guillén was hospitalized after being diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, but he was ready for the ALCS against the Yankees the following month.

Over the years, the holes in Guillén's swing have gotten smaller, and some have disappeared altogether. In the field, he has good range with a strong arm and turns the double play reasonably well.

Guillén showed the perfect components that fitted together in a young and restructured 2004 Tigers team. In a career year he led his club in RBI (97), runs (97), doubles (37), triples (10), total bases (283), slugging percentage (.542), OPS (.921), and his .318 batting average was only second to .334 of teammate Ivan Rodriguez. Guillén also got his first All-Star berth. However, his breakout season was cut short, as he missed the final month of the 2004 season after tearing his ACL while legging out a triple. He healed well during the 2004-05 offseason and was back to his previous form in time for 2005's opening day, although problems with his left hamstring have kept him out of the lineup on occasion.

As of the completion of the 2005 season, Guillén is a career .282 hitter with 54 home runs and 331 RBI in 711 games. Some baseball analysts still believe that he will be a fine player in 2006, after his injury-plagued 2005 season, just as he was in 2004.

2004 Highlights