Every radio host thinks they could manage an MLB team, but how many managers believe they could host a radio show?
As insane as that sounds, it’s not exactly a revelation. Amon-Ra St. Brown claimed that podcasting is harder than running routes. Ozzie Guillén essentially echoed that sentiment when he claimed Wednesday that managing an MLB team is easier than hosting a radio show.
At least for him.
Now, he’s only reinforcing the idea that your local afternoon drive co-host could craft a lineup and push the right buttons with much less stress than putting together a daily radio show.
During his appearance on Mully & Haugh on 670 The Score on Wednesday, the former White Sox manager made it clear that while he’s now firmly in the media, he doesn’t envy the daily grind of a radio host. Guillén has been with CHSN (formerly with NBC Sports Chicago) since 2019, and with the White Sox’s disastrous 2024 season, he was arguably the only thing worth watching on their broadcasts.
Managing a team? Easy. Being a postgame analyst? A breeze. But hosting a radio show? Forget it.
“Real good radio people do their job every day, and it’s something that’s not easy for that many years,” Guillén said, as covered by Barrett Media. “I was just talking with Ozzie Jr. yesterday when we jumped in the car. I said, ‘Bro, how do those guys prepare themselves every day to put up with fans like me who listen to them every day.’ It’s not easy.”
For Guillén, who hasn’t managed in the majors since a brief 2012 stint with the Miami Marlins, managing every day felt natural. The unpredictability of the job kept things interesting.
Just don’t hand him the mic at 6 a.m. five days a week and expect him to keep the energy up.
“To me, it’s easy to go manage every day because every day is going to be different,” Guillén said. “Every day they got to wake up early, [and] go to work. Yet, you have people criticizing you; you have people agree with you. You got people who think they’re smarter than you. This is just crazy, man. I tip my hat to you guys cause working that day in and day out is not easy.”
Neither is working for Jerry Reinsdorf, but Guillén didn’t have to navigate that under the spotlight of modern social media. He also mostly opted out of returning to the White Sox, but it felt more like Eric Mangini putting his name in the hat for the Jets job than Rex Ryan eagerly chasing it.
If they called him, fine. But the scrutiny now? It’s different.
“With the social media and everything, and people sitting in their basement listening to people and make comments,” Guillén said. “Also, you have to be careful what you’re saying. You have to be careful what you do. You know, when you work on TV, radio, or whatever it is, you’re walking on eggshells.”
Guillén admitted he keeps a personal archive of every broadcast he does for CHSN, having his wife record every single game. It’s not to study tape or anything like that, but like a coach breaking down film, he wants to have cover for himself. He’s not chasing perfection behind the mic; he’s bracing for blowback. In an era where a single out-of-context soundbite can ignite outrage, Guillén’s less concerned with getting better and more concerned with not getting burned.
Turns out the guy who once managed a World Series winner is more worried about getting roasted for something he said on TV than for a bullpen move. And honestly, who can blame him?