Ino Guerrero

As the unofficial but recognized spiritual adviser to the ever-mercurial Manny Ramírez, Ino Guerrero had a distinctive role on the 2004 World Series champion Red Sox.1 Given the nature of the team’s offensive prowess, his official role as batting-practice pitcher would seem to be enough for most people, and yet his role as the attendant to Ramírez’s spiritual needs gave Guerrero added luster while adding another dimension to a team fondly remembered, in the words of Johnny Damon, as the “Idiots.”2 Who knows? Perhaps it was the spiritual connection upon which Ramírez drew in winning the World Series MVP Award and leading the team that laughed at both history and the odds as they ended the franchise’s eight-decade-plus championship drought. Regardless, on a team that defied history, Ino Guerrero had a distinctive role. 

Inocencio Guerrero was born on December 28, 1960, in Higueral in the Dominican Republic. He attended Escuela Primaria High School but beyond that little is known about his youth in the Dominican Republic.3 At the same time, given that he began his minor-league career as an 18-year-old, it is safe to assume that like so many Dominican youngsters from an early age, he harbored dreams of playing major-league baseball in the United States.

Guerrero’s professional baseball career started in 1979 when he appeared in 23 games for the Atlanta Braves team in the Gulf Coast (Rookie) League. While he hit only .225, he showed a good eye for the ball, working pitchers for 10 walks in his 92 plate appearances. He also spent the following season with the GCL Braves, this time hitting only .195, although he did raise his on-base percentage to .312. 

Such was the beginning of a professional odyssey that saw Guerrero spend 10 seasons in the minor leagues, crafting a career that saw parts of two seasons spent in Triple A, parts of six in Double A, parts of four in Single A, and two in the Rookie League. As he pursued his major-league dreams, Guerrero compiled a decade-long career that led one observer to say that he was the real Crash Davis, the minor leaguer at the heart of the baseball classic Bull Durham, the movie whose 1988 release coincided, ironically, with Ino Guerrero’s third stint with the real-life Durham Bulls, and his final season as a minor-league player.4   

Over the course of his time in the minors, on rosters from the rookie leagues to Triple A, Guerrero played in the Gulf Coast, South Atlantic, Carolina, International, and Southern Leagues. Making stops in towns ranging from the capital of Virginia, Richmond, to the site of the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum in Greenville, South Carolina, Guerrero spent a decade in the heart of minor-league baseball, but finally, after a 1988 split between Greenville and Durham, Guerrero, who most often played first base but also did stints in the outfield and behind the plate, retired as a player.

It is hard to say which season was Guerrero’s best, so often was his time split between two different teams, but in 1982, in 131 games with the Anderson Braves in the Class-A South Atlantic League, Guerrero hit .288, with an on-base percentage of .399 and a slugging average of .458. His numbers placed him among the leaders in numerous offensive categories for Braves minor leaguers. He followed that up with a strong first half in 1983, hitting .332 with the Durham Bulls, before being called up to the Double-A Savannah Braves. Unhappily, he was unable to maintain that pace. In the end, he fell short of his big-league dream. But over the course of 10 years and 955 games in the minors, Guerrero compiled a career batting average of .265. He had 813 hits, 90 of which were home runs, and he drove in 500 runs. Yet while he never got the proverbial cup of coffee, his retirement as a player after the end of the 1988 season did not represent the end of his baseball days. 

In fact, in the eyes of his colleagues and experienced baseball observers, as his career wound down and he enjoyed his final stint with the Bulls, in addition to being seen as a Crash Davis-like character, he was also, in the words of one writer, “auditioning for the role of Organization Man.”5 In that role, one befitting, or at least most likely to be played by, one of the team’s elder statesmen, the Organization Man looks after the young players, sets an example in the clubhouse, and serves as a mentor. Ideally, they are a “stabilizing influence” in the clubhouse and if the audition goes well, they will be able to keep their baseball career alive as a hitting instructor or a coach. For a Dominican Republic native like Guerrero, there was also the added role of helping young native Dominican players adjust to both American baseball and American society and culture.6 As Guerrero played out the string, his Bulls manager, Grady Little, with whom he would subsequently be reunited on the Red Sox, recognized and appreciated the role. Indeed, having already managed almost 900 minor-league games, the 38-year-old Little observed, “I’ve got aspirations of being a big-league coach or manager. There’s dues to pay.”7 Guerrero clearly understood that code and was getting a head start. 

In fact, the major leagues, albeit in a capacity more akin to the Organization Man he was preparing to become, still beckoned, but not before he paid a few more dues in the minors. Indeed, following his retirement as a player, Guerrero began an odyssey not unlike his minor-league playing career, serving in a number of different roles for a number of different teams, for the most part in the Braves organization. He started as a coach with the Durham Bulls in 1989.8 But over the course of the next decade and a half he held a number of positions in the Braves and Red Sox organizations, including coaching the Braves’ Dominican Republic summer team, working as a hitting instructor for the Red Sox’ short-season Lowell Spinners (New York-Penn League) and the advanced Class-A Sarasota Red Sox, where in 1999 he filled in briefly as manager when manager and former Red Sox skipper Butch Hobson was ill.9    

For all the uncertainties and the circuitous path Guerrero had taken to the Red Sox, his efforts in the minors had an impact on the young players who were so very much like what he had once been.  Indeed, one of his players from the 1999 Sarasota Red Sox, Morgan Burkhart, who was an independent league legend before joining the Sarasota Red Sox and subsequently going on to serve as a hitting coach for the San Diego Padres minor-league affiliate Fort Wayne Tin Caps, recalled that “Ino Guerrero was my first hitting coach in the (Red Sox) organization. I learned a lot from him because he didn’t say a whole lot. You know you’re looking for these guys to get on you all the time, but he’d watch you over and over and then he’d be able to find out when something went a little different.”10

The 2003 season saw Guerrero reunited on the Red Sox with former manager Grady Little. While Little was a familiar face, variously described as a “staffer” or “coach,” he was often seen with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, and by many accounts Ino’s arrival was based in his status as a “Friend of Manny (FOM).”11 His closeness to Ramírez was recognized and acknowledged by all. Indeed, whether it was as staff assistant or simply as “major league staff,” Guerrero’s usual official title, one that most often translated into batting-practice pitcher, or through his socializing with Ramírez and Ortiz away from the field, a role that often included cooking the slugging duo their Dominican favorites, Guerrero had a distinctive tie to Ramírez.12 And yet he remained with the team well beyond the end of the Ramírez era. However, the strength of his ties to the enigmatic Ramírez, for whom he had served as coach, cheerleader, hitting coach, and confidant, were evident for all to see when Ramírez returned to Fenway Park for the first time after having been traded to the Dodgers. The 2004 World Series MVP gave his buddy a huge hug, and the image, captured by a wire-service photographer and often accompanying an article reporting on the “many reactions” to Manny’s return, appeared in papers across the country.13

At the same time, over the years the FOM endeared himself to the Red Sox community, establishing a bond that transcended his relationship with Ramírez. Through his personality, the experience-based knowledge he brought to his responsibilities, and his willingness to do whatever seemed to be needed, he carved a niche for himself on the Red Sox, although his most consistent and official role was as the team’s batting-practice pitcher, a role he performed so well that some Red Sox said he threw the best BP in baseball.14 Indeed, it was his efforts in that role that led to his being selected to serve as David Ortiz’s designated pitcher in the 2004 Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game.15 Unhappily, with only three home runs in the first round, Ortiz did not advance and the Red Sox slugger switched to Red Sox third-base coach Dale Sveum for 2005.16 In the aftermath of Ortiz’s disappointing effort, Guerrero, whose pitching had been erratic, acknowledged the difference in performing on the big stage, admitting that he had felt a kind of pressure that was unlike anything that daily batting practice offered. After the contest, he commented, “Yes, I was a little nervous. It was the first time I did that. It was a nice experience, but it’s like the first time you’re in the major leagues. You feel a little nervous.”17  

That same kind of humanity, as well as the distinctive if multifaceted role that Guerrero played on the Red Sox, was evident in numerous incidents over the years. Typical was the 2009 preseason game between the Red Sox and Boston College. As Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy put it, the game took on a “circus-like feel” when the “ancient Ino Guerrero came up to hit for Ortiz.”18 After noting that Guerrero was best known as the caddy for Manny Ramírez, Shaughnessy commented that while he was listed as “major league staff” and was reported to be 48 years old, no one really knew what he did or how old he was. Nevertheless, his stature as a beloved figure on the team was evident when, as he strode to the plate carrying a bat and wearing number 80, the dugout came alive. He walked on five pitches and after a pinch-runner was sent out to take his place, Guerrero’s return to the dugout reminded observers of the response Kirk Gibson got after his World Series home run, no small feat for the single spring-training at-bat that had become something of a team tradition.19 Meanwhile, manager Terry Francona commented that he liked the way Guerrero flipped his bat after the walk as though he had hit a home run, adding that he might he might get another chance in the coming game against Northeastern University.20  

Another incident that pushed Guerrero suddenly and unhappily into the spotlight took place on February 28, 2011, when he was involved in a freak accident during spring training that left Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett with a concussion. In the midst of hitting shagged balls back from the outfield to the infield, Guerrero’s misguided attempt to use a fungo bat to hit a ball into the bucket stationed behind second base instead hit Beckett, shagging balls in the outfield, in the left temple. The incident was picked up by the wire services and suddenly Ino Guerrero, the Red Sox’ major-league staff assistant, found himself with a much higher public profile. Fortunately, Beckett, the team’s ace right-hander, was able to walk off under his own power (accompanied by the team’s trainers) and was diagnosed with mild concussion symptoms.  He rested the next day (Tuesday), rode a stationary bike on Wednesday, and pitched a simulated game on Friday.21 In an alleged effort to overcome a lack of right-handed hitters, Beckett tried to get Guerrero to be a part of the opposing lineup but the staffer deferred, ruining any opportunity for good-natured revenge that Beckett might have been entertaining.22  

Equally entertaining, but not as much of a threat to the team’s well-being, was the time in in spring training 2013 when during a baserunning drill, the ever-helpful Guerrero, serving as the third-base coach, was observed waving his arm counterclockwise as the runners came by, prompting Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia to call out, “Wrong way, Ino.”23 

Later that same year Guerrero underwent spinal surgery. It was originally announced that he would be sidelined while he recovered, but in fact, it seems that the surgery marked the end of his days with the Red Sox, if not all of professional baseball.24 Indeed, after almost 3½ decades in professional baseball in the United States, it appears that Ino Guerrero has retired to a home in his native Dominican Republic. But efforts to confirm that yielded little in the way of confirmation. Indeed, efforts to contact him through the SABR Dominican Republic network were singularly unsuccessful.25 Meanwhile, inquiries of the Red Sox were no more helpful with Sarah C. Coffin, the team’s alumni relations manager and team curator, writing that she was “not able to disclose that” when asked if she knew if Guerrero was “back in the Dominican Republic, having returned there after his career ended.”26 And so the mystery of Ino Guerrero remains. 

Sources

In addition to the source cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and a number of other sources.

Notes

1 Mark Blaudschun, “Ramirez Picked His Spot,” Boston Globe, October 7, 2003.

2 Ian Browne, “Genius Moniker: Origin of  ’04 Sox ‘Idiots,’” MLB.com, February 5, 2021; https://www.mlb.com/news/2004-red-sox-idiots-nickname-explained.

3 Inocencio Guerrero Baseball Card, 1989, Durham Bulls, Durham Sun/Durham Morning Herald; https://www.tcdb.com/GalleryP.cfm/pid/74411/Inocencio-Guerrero.

4 Thomas Ferraro (United Press International), “Durham Bulls: Art Imitates Baseball – The Real-Life Durham Bulls,” July 3, 1988; https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/07/03/Durham-Bulls-Art-imitates-baseball-The-real-life-Durham-Bulls/3701583905600/.

5 Jim Naughton, “Durham Bulls,” Washington Post, July 24, 1988.

6 Naughton, “Durham Bulls.”

7 Naughton, “Durham Bulls.”

8 “Durham Bulls ’89,” Durham Sun, April 7, 1989.

9 Carroll Rogers, “Braves Appoint Runge as New Macon Manager,” Macon Telegraph, December 8, 1995; “Red Sox Named Guerrero the Hitting Coach of the Lowell Spinners of the New York-Penn League (A),” Transactions, National Post, December 17, 1998; Steve Megargee, “Dodgers Come Up One Rally Short,” Vero Beach (Florida) Press Journal, April 14, 1999.

10 John Nolan, “From Construction to Curveballs: Morgan Burkhart Handles It All,” Holding Down the Fort, May 23, 2013; https://tincaps.mlblogs.com/from-construction-to-curveballs-morgan-burkhart-handles-it-all-4e253452e5ba.

11 Gordon Edes, “Slugger Is Bringing Out the Best,” Boston Globe, September 4, 2003; Dan Shaughnessy, “Nice Try, but They Cannot Give Him Away,” Boston Globe, October 31, 2003.

12 Bob Hohler, “Clouds Around Ramirez Seem to Have Lifted,” Meriden (Connecticut) Record-Journal, March 30, 2003; Edes, “Slugger Is Bringing Out the Best”; Bob Hohler, “Ramirez Snaps Out of It with Pop,” Boston Globe, April 3, 2004.

13 Jimmy Golen (Associated Press), “Many Reactions to Manny’s Return.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, June 19, 2010.

14 Ron Borges, “Ino Guerrero Captivates with His Own BP,” Boston Herald, March 4, 2010.

15 John Shea, “Big Hitter Only as Good as Cookie-Tossing Pitcher,” SFGate.com, July 9, 2007; https://www.sfgate.com/sports/shea/article/Big-hitter-only-as-good-as-cookie-tossing-pitcher-2582454.php.

16 Shea, “Big Hitter Only as Good as Cookie-Tossing Pitcher.”

17 “Big Hitter Only as Good as Cookie-Tossing Pitcher.”

18 Dan Shaughnessy, “Lasting Images for BC,” Boston Globe, February 26, 2009.

19 “Lasting Images for BC”; “A Monster Day, Saturday, February 26, 2011 – City of Palms Park, Ft. Myers,” RedSoxDiehard.com; http://redsoxdiehard.com/wordpress/2011/02/26/a-monster-day/.

20 Amalie Benjamin, “Nothing Floats Past Bard,” Boston Globe, February 26, 2009.

21 Joe McDonald, “Beckett Cleared to Have Normal Day,” ESPN.com: Red Sox Report, March 3, 2011; https://www.espn.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/8424/beckett-cleared-to-have-normal-day.

22 Maureen Mullen, “Beckett: ‘I’m pretty Much Back to Normal,’” NBC Sports, March 4, 2011; https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/boston-red-sox/beckett-im-pretty-much-back-normal.

23 “Red Sox Spring Training Report, Thumbs Down,” Boston Globe, February 16, 2013.

24 Peter Abrahams, “Middlebrooks Returns but Iglesias Will Stick,” Boston Globe, June 11, 2013.

25 Email, Julio M. Rodriguez G. to Bill Pruden, March 4, 2023.

26 Email, Sarah C. Coffin to Bill Pruden, March 13, 2023.