White Sox TV analyst Ozzie Guillen laid into home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt over some past beef after the team’s 9-0 loss to the Orioles on Tuesday.
Wendelstedt threw out Chicago’s interim manager Grady Sizemore after a shouting match between the pair following some questionable ball and strike calls.
A fired-up Guillen, who played 16 big league seasons and managed nine more, used the spat to reopen some old wounds between himself and Wendelstedt, the son of Harry Hunter Wendelstedt Jr., who umpired for 33 seasons from 1968 to 1998.
“I wish I punched him in the face,” Guillen said of Wendelstedt during the postgame show on NBC Sports Chicago. “He’s the first guy to kick me out of a game in the big leagues, with no reason. His dad, he was a legend. I said, ‘You know what? You’re not a pimple on your daddy’s behind.’ I told him that.”
Guillen didn’t stop there, later poking fun at Wendelstedt’s appearance after the studio crew showed a video of him and Sizemore’s dust-up.
“The guy is bad. Look at how fat he is,” Guillen said. “He should be embarrassed to wear that uniform.”
Frustration may have been boiling over for Guillen, who has been covering the MLB-worst White Sox all season.
Tuesday’s loss was Chicago’s 12th straight – their third such losing streak of 12 or more games – dropping them to 31-109 on the season.
The latest loss was an exceptionally embarrassing one too.
The team allowed a routine pop-up to fall in during the bottom of the second inning after left fielder Andrew Benintendi and infielder Miguel Vargas collided.
The White Sox are on pace to lose 126 heading into Wednesday’s play, which would shatter the 1962 Mets’ modern-era record of 120 losses in a single season.
