Carlos Alfonso Guillén (born September 30, 1975) is a Major League Baseball first baseman and switch-hitter who plays for the Detroit Tigers. He was born in Maracay, Aragua State, Venezuela.
Guillén was signed by the Houston Astros as a non-draft amateur free agent in . He was traded to the Seattle Mariners with pitcher Freddy García in the deal that sent Randy Johnson to the Astros. Guillén made his debut in and was traded to Detroit at the end of the season.
Coming from a long tradition of Venezuelan shortstops, which has produced the likes of Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio, Dave Concepción, Ozzie Guillén (no relation; Guillén is a common surname in Venezuela) and Omar Vizquel, and the young stars Alex González and César Izturis as well, Guillén was forced to switch to second and third with incumbent Alex Rodriguez at short. After the season, A-Rod signed with the Texas Rangers, allowing Guillén to move back to his natural position. He had a league-average campaign in his first full-season with the club.
In Game 3 of the ALDS, he hit a perfect squeeze play in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Rickey Henderson and complete the Mariners' sweep of the Chicago White Sox. In September 2001, Guillén was hospitalized after being diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, but he was ready for the ALCS against the Yankees the following month.
Over the years, the holes in Guillén's swing have gotten smaller, and some have disappeared altogether. In the field, he has good range with a strong arm and turns the double play reasonably well.
Guillén showed the perfect components that fitted together in a young and restructured Tigers team. In a career year, he led his club in RBI (97), runs (97), doubles (37), triples (10), total bases (283), slugging percentage (.542), OPS (.921), and his .318 batting average was only second to .334 of teammate Iván Rodríguez. Guillén also got his first All-Star berth. However, his breakout season was cut short, as he missed the final month of the 2004 season after tearing his ACL while legging out a triple. He healed well during the 2004-05 offseason and was back to his previous form in time for 's opening day, although problems with his left hamstring kept him out of the lineup for much of the year. Guillén returned to elite status in having another outstanding season. His on-base percentage reached .400 for the first time in his career, and he led all Major League shortstops with a .919 OPS.
On August 1, 2006, Guillén became the tenth Tiger to hit for the cycle, in a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
In 2006, Guillén became the first player in modern Major League history to raise his average for six consecutive seasons, batting .320. In the field, however, he tied for the major league lead in errors at shortstop, with 28.
On August 6, , in the bottom of the 1st, he got his 1,000 hit, knocking in Curtis Granderson with two out.
On September 30, 2007, on his 32nd birthday, Guillen hit the 93rd home run of his career and it gave him 100 RBIs in a season for the first time in his career.
In 2007, he had the lowest fielding percentage of all major league shortstops, .955.
With the acquisition of shortstop Edgar Rentería from the Atlanta Braves during the 2007- offseason, Guillén is expected to move to first base during the 2008 season.
