Ordonez visits Chicago
CHICAGO – Magglio Ordonez was greeted by former teammates and showered with a mix of boos and cheers Monday as he returned to Chicago with the Detroit Tigers for the first time since leaving the White Sox.
Admittedly nervous over how he would be received in a park where he played for eight seasons, Ordonez responded in the first inning with a single before taking his familiar spot in right field.
“It was business, so that’s in the past. I signed with the Tigers and I’m pretty happy here, and like I say, I’m sorry it didn’t work out,”’ Ordonez said before the game. “They’re doing good, and we’re doing good, too.”
Chicago has the best record in major leagues and has hardly missed its four-time All-Star. He and the White Sox didn’t come to terms on a new contract and there was a difference of opinion or lack of communication on his condition after a second knee surgery. He signed a $75 million, five-year deal with Detroit.
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen made a profanity-filled tirade against Ordonez in April after the former star right fielder referred to his fellow countryman – both are from Venezuela – as his “enemy.”
“I would say hello to him. We come from the same country, we speak the same language, we have role models from Venezuela and we should be an example,” Ordonez said.
“If it would happen again, I’d say the same things again because I have my right,” Guillen said. “But do Magglio and myself have any problems? I don’t have any problems with him. The only problem is I have to face him.”
Before the game, Ordonez initiated a conversation with White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, moving to an area behind the plate to shake his hand as Reinsdorf was exiting the field.
Earlier he was greeted near first base by a handful of ex-teammates, including Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko, Aaron Rowand and Mark Buehrle. He got a hug behind the batting cage from hitting coach Greg Walker.
Ordonez, a career.307 hitter with 187 homers during his White Sox career, only played 52 games last season because of the knee injury, his fewest appearances since he was a late-season callup in 1997. Ordonez missed 36 games after injuring his left knee in a May 19 collision with second baseman Willie Harris, then went on the disabled list for the remainder of the season on July 22 with bone marrow edema.
The White Sox said they thought Ordonez was beginning his rehab in September only to learn that he had a second knee operation.
“Whatever my personal feelings are at this point, things that were said about me and this organization from his angle, it’s really irrelevant because in the grand scheme of things, he went out there every day and was very, very productive,” White Sox general manager Kenny Williams said.
Ordonez has recovered from hernia surgery and finally got a chance to face the White Sox after missing previous meetings this season while injured or recovering.
“I’m just happy to be healthy now,” he said.
“I spent a lot of years over there and I have lot of friends and a lot of good teammates. I came from the minor leagues with them and they’re doing really good and I’m happy for them.”