Ozzie Guillen said he plans to bring the White Sox’s World Series trophy back with him to Venezuela, no matter what the cost.
“I don’t [care] if I have to steal that trophy,” Guillen said last week.
Though the trophy ultimately belongs to Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, players have been known to borrow it for visits to their countries or hometowns.
After Boston won last year’s World Series, the Red Sox World Series Trophy Tour hit all 351 towns in Massachusetts, more than a dozen states and the Dominican Republic.
A White Sox World Series Trophy Tour could potentially trump a Red Sox World Series Trophy Tour, at least in terms of air mileage. Guillen will no doubt take it to Venezuela, and perhaps second baseman Tadahito Iguchi will get an opportunity to bring it to Japan.
Guillen plans to leave for his Venezuelan home sometime in the next couple of weeks, and he expects to visit with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a controversial politician who has a tenuous relationship with the Bush administration.
On Sunday, Chavez hailed Guillen as a national hero when the Sox manager appeared by telephone on the president’s weekly TV and radio program.
“I dare to say you are like the king of Venezuela,” Chavez told Guillen. “Your triumph is the triumph of all of Venezuela. … The whole nation is waiting for you.”
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Edited by the sports staff of RedEye.
