Background and career
José Manuel Guillén (pronounced [ɡiˈʎen]; born May 17, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. Guillén played for ten Major League Baseball (MLB) teams in his career.
Guillén was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent on August 19, 1993. He made his MLB debut on April 1, 1997 and was the team's everyday right fielder. Guillén made the jump to the Majors having played the entire 1996 campaign in High-A. On July 27, 1998, Guillén made what has been widely described as one of the most spectacular outfield assists in baseball history; after failing to make a leaping catch at the warning track at Coors Field, Guillén scooped up the ball and made a blistering throw to get Neifi Pérez out at third base.
On July 23, 1999, Guillén was traded, along with Jeff Sparks, to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Joe Oliver and Humberto Cota. On November 27, 2001, after two injury-plagued seasons with the Devil Rays, the team released him.
On December 18, 2001, Guillén signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played in only 54 games for the Diamondbacks before being released on July 22, 2002.
Guillén was signed by the Colorado Rockies on July 29, 2002, but was released just three days later on August 1, before playing in any games.
On August 20, 2002, Guillén signed with the Cincinnati Reds.
