KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -Kansas City Royals outfielder Jose Guillen had to be restrained from a heckling fan during a 2-1 loss to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.
Kauffman Stadium security removed the fan, who started in on Guillen after he stopped at first base in the second inning after hitting a drive off the wall in left field.
“When I got that hit to left field, that guy started saying all kinds of stuff. ‘Why didn’t I make it to second?”’ Guillen said. “Hey, I hit the ball hard. People who know baseball know the guy (Rangers left fielder Marlon Byrd) made a nice play. I had no chance to make it to second. I can deal with that.”
When Guillen flied out to left to end the fourth, the fan’s heckling apparently escalated.
“The (next) at-bat, when I hit the ball to left field, he said the magic words,” Guillen said. “Something personal about my family. I don’t deal well with that. That’s enough right there.”
Royals third base coach Luis Silverio and others restrained Guillen, while security led the fan away.
Guillen, who is the highest paid Royal in history at $12 million a year, is hitting .249, but he leads the club with 17 home runs and 80 RBIs. He has one extra base hit – a home run on Sunday – in the past 14 games.
“I understand who I am and the money that I’m making,” Guillen said. “I understand that I’m hitting .250, and the fans are expecting a lot more than they’re seeing. But the word he said, trust me, anybody would want to go there.”
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