Juan Guzmán

A right-handed starter with a wicked slider, Juan Guzmán pitched parts of 10 seasons (1991-2000) for the Blue Jays, Orioles, Reds and Devil Rays. During his first three big-league seasons, he compiled a record of 40-11 while helping Toronto to three straight playoff appearances, including two World Series titles. The Dominican Republic native posted a 5-1 post-season record, was an All-Star in 1992, and won the American League ERA title in 1996.

Juan Andres Guzmán Correa was born on October 28, 1966, in Santo Domingo to Daniel and Francis Guzmán, who had four other children: Daniel, Roberto, Raúl and Nancy.1 The family lived in a home without indoor plumbing in Manoguayabo, a poor sector in the western part of the capital city.2 The elder Daniel was a building contractor. Juan assisted his father with carpentry, leaving little time for baseball, so long-distance running was his first favorite sport.3 When Juan did play baseball, he was initially an outfielder, but converted to pitching in his early teens because his local team was shorthanded. “Also, I couldn’t hit anything,” he joked. “But, yeah, we needed another pitcher.”4 The main hurler was his friend and fellow Liceo Las Américas student, Ramón Martínez. “When we used to play in the neighborhood every Saturday and Sunday, [Ramón] would always start the first game, and I’d start the second game,” Guzmán recalled.5 “Nobody can really teach you to be a pitcher. They can only help you to become a better pitcher. But that first time I picked up the ball, it felt . . . natural.”6

In the early 1980s Guzmán attended a Toronto Blue Jays tryout camp organized by scout Epy Guerrero. “I was too young. I was 14 or 15 years old,” Guzmán said. “I was throwing hard, 84-85 miles an hour. Epy told me I had a good arm and all that stuff but that I was too young to leave the island.”7 A few years later, Dodgers scout Ralph Avila was organizing two national teams of Dominican amateurs and asked for recommendations from a clubhouse worker with the Tigres del Licey winter league club. The clubbie named his neighborhood teammates, Martínez and Guzmán. “Ramón was a really skinny kid and Juan was a husky kid,” Avila recalled. Impressed by Martínez’s control and breaking ball, Avila moved him to a club headed for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where baseball was a demonstration sport, and signed him shortly afterwards. The rawer Guzmán joined the team bound for the youth championships in Kindersley, Saskatchewan, where he played for Alfredo Griffin’s uncle alongside two of George Bell’s brothers.8 After returning home, Guzmán’s work at the Dodgers camp in Campo Las Palmas convinced Los Angeles to sign him, too.9 “My parents were worried. They wanted me to continue to go to school,” he said. “Finally, they said, ‘Do what you want to do.’ I could sign this contract and I could try to have a career. I could always go back to school, but maybe I could not go back to baseball.”10 Guzmán signed for a $4,000 bonus.11

Working primarily as relievers, Guzmán, 18, and Martínez, 17, combined for a 9-2 record for the Dodgers’ sub-.500 Rookie-level Gulf Coast League affiliate in 1985. Though Guzmán led the club in wins (5) and saves (4) in 21 appearances (three starts), his 3.86 ERA was worse than league average and more than a run-per-game higher than his friend’s. “Ramón was always the better pitcher, the more natural pitcher. I had to learn, make mistakes, get help,” Guzmán said.12 “He helped me to learn pitches.”13 In Guzmán’s 42 innings, he uncorked 15 wild pitches to lead the circuit.

In 1986, Guzmán threw 16 more wild pitches to lead the Single-A Florida State League. Overall, he was 10-9 with a 3.49 ERA in 24 starts (26 games) and led the Vero Beach Dodgers in victories and strikeouts. Alejandro Peña, Guzman’s childhood hero, joined Vero Beach in May and made four appearances on a rehab assignment.14

Guzmán spent 1987 with the Bakersfield Dodgers in the Single-A California League. He struck out 113 batters in 110 innings but walked 84 and finished 5-6 with a 4.75 ERA in 21 starts (plus one relief appearance). He was pitching in the Instructional League on September 22 when a coach told him that he’d been traded to Toronto for infielder Mike Sharperson. “We felt [Guzmán] was several years away and would have to acquire command, always an unknown,” explained Los Angeles GM Fred Claire.15 “The file on him was always ‘good arm, good person.’ There was never a negative report on him in any way.”16 Guzmán said, “I was surprised because the Dodgers told me that I was one of the best prospects that they had.”17

Also surprised were the Blue Jays, who had believed they could pick between two prospects and intended to select shortstop José Offerman. “We wanted Offerman and thought we had the choice,” Toronto GM Pat Gillick confirmed in 1991. “In the end, Fred insisted it was his choice and gave us Guzmán. I wasn’t happy.”18 If Gillick wasn’t pleased, Guzmán was, at least initially. “A lot of my friends were playing in the Blue Jay organization,” he explained. “But I was disappointed when they told me I was going to be a reliever. That toned everything down.”19

In 1988, Guzmán led the Knoxville Blue Jays with 46 appearances (two starts) and posted a 2.36 ERA in the Double-A Southern League. He walked 60 in 84 innings but permitted only 52 hits. In the Dominican League that winter, he started 11 of his 12 appearances for the Tigres del Licey. Although his record was only 3-5, he posted a solid 2.84 ERA and the manager, Dodgers’ coach Joe Ferguson, told him, “Wow, I don’t know how they let you go.”20 Guzmán joined the circuit champion Leones del Escogido for the Caribbean Series in Mazatlán, Mexico, where he earned the Dominican Republic’s only victory and was clocked at 97-mph.21

The Blue Jays promoted him to the Triple-A International League in 1989 but continued to use him out of the bullpen. Appearing in 14 games for the Syracuse Chiefs, Guzmán walked 30 batters in 20 ⅓ innings. “He had two or three different release points,” recalled pitching instructor Galen Cisco.22 “He’d bounce pitches 10 feet in front of the plate. He’d sail two or three over the back screen and that was about 10 foot high.”23 Following a June demotion to Knoxville, Guzmán was 1-4 with a 6.23 ERA in 22 outings (eight starts), still averaging more than one walk per inning. “I needed innings to develop. As a reliever I was getting one inning, two innings, then I might not pitch for a week. I couldn’t get my control going. I couldn’t get my mechanics consistent,” Guzmán explained.24 He was dropped from Toronto’s 40-man roster and later confessed, “There was a time when I thought I was going to quit baseball.”25

That winter, Guzmán reached out to Avila, who told him he was opening his shoulder too soon and overthrowing. Back at Knoxville in 1990, pitching coach John Poloni encouraged him to speed up his deliberate tempo and develop better balance in his delivery. Guzmán appealed to Knoxville manager John Stearns, recalling, “I told him, ‘I’m not a reliever. If there’s any chance I can be a starter, please give me a chance’.”26 By year end, 21 of Guzmán’s 37 appearances were starts and he went 11-9 with a 4.24 ERA. Despite leading the team in victories, he was left off the 40-man roster again after leading a third league in wild pitches. Any team could have drafted him for $50,000, but none did. “I was upset with everybody,” he said. “They didn’t think I was good enough to play in the big leagues.”27 For Licey, Guzmán went 7-1 with a 1.69 ERA in nine starts (10 games) to win Pitcher of the Year honors. In five playoff games, he was 3-0, 1.71, including a complete game win in the finals to help Licey win the championship. In February 1991, he helped the Dominican Republic win the Caribbean Series (called “Winterball 1” that year) in Miami.

Guzmán began 1991 in Triple-A Syracuse and impressed Chiefs’ skipper Bob Bailor while starting 11 of his 12 appearances. “The guy is driven, and he just goes about his business,” Bailor said.28 Though Guzmán was only 4-5 with a 4.03 ERA, he was leading the International League with 67 strikeouts in 67 innings when the Blue Jays called him up to replace Dave Stieb, who’d gone onto the disabled list with back problems.29

On June 7, Guzmán started in Baltimore and struck out five Orioles –including Cal Ripken— in the first three innings of his debut. But he was knocked out in the fifth and lost, 6-4. Eight days later in Toronto, the Orioles beat him again. On June 22, however, Guzmán earned his first big-league victory by hurling seven shutout innings of three-hit ball against the Indians, striking out six and walking two. Next time out, he pitched into the eighth to defeat the Twins, 1-0, He went on to win 10 straight decisions, breaking Stieb’s Blue Jays record.30 It was also the longest winning streak by a rookie in 28 years.31 Five of Guzmán’s wins came in September and, by the time he lost his last outing to finish 10-3 with a 2.99 ERA in 23 starts, Toronto had clinched the AL East. “I always thought I could make it, but never in my dreams did I think it would turn out like this,” he confessed. “I think the Lord has been with me.”32

“I’ve never seen [Guzmán] unnerved,” said Blue Jays’ catcher Pat Borders. “The guy’s a rock that way.”33 In the ALCS against the Twins, Guzmán pitched Game Two in front of 54,816 at the Metrodome. “At least the fans weren’t throwing anything at me like they do sometimes in the Dominican,” he said.34 He walked two of the first three hitters but settled down to earn Toronto’s only victory in the best-of-seven series with 5 ⅔ innings of four-hit work. “He’s effectively wild,” observed Minnesota manager Tom Kelly. “Just wild enough to be real good.”35 Guzmán finished second to Twins’ second baseman Chuck Knoblauch in AL Rookie of the Year voting and claimed The Sporting News’ honor as the circuit’s top freshman pitcher. “I just have good concentration. When you can control your mind, you can do anything. I wasn’t always this way – gradually I found it out for myself,” Guzmán said.36 “I’ve always worked very, very hard. It’s finally paying off.”37

One key to Guzmán’s success was the late-breaking slider he developed in 1990 after scrapping his curveball. “Juan Guzmán has the most unusual slider I’ve ever seen,” remarked broadcaster and former pitcher Jim Kaat. “It goes down so sharply that I thought it was a split-finger.” Guzmán held it like the curve with a finger across a seam. Throwing overhand, he would turn his wrist just before releasing the ball to achieve an effect that he described as being between that of a cut fastball and slider. “I only throw it when I can get a strikeout. I really like to throw it out of the strike zone and try to get the hitter to swing,” he said.38 His repertoire also included a three-finger changeup.39 His mid-90s fastball was there all along. The Blue Jays asked Guzmán to take it easy in winter ball, but sellout crowds turned out to see his lone regular-season start and three playoff outings for Licey.40

In 1992, Guzmán won 11 of his first 12 decisions and finished the first half 11-2 with an AL-leading 2.11 ERA and 122 strikeouts. At the All-Star Game in San Diego, he struck out the first two batters he faced —Ryne Sandberg and Benito Santiago— and completed a scoreless inning by popping up Barry Bonds after loading the bases. Guzmán missed most of August because his shoulder felt sore when he threw sliders and changeups.41 He returned and helped propel Toronto back to the postseason, completing a 16-5, 2.64 campaign by one-hitting the Tigers over eight shutout innings to earn the AL East clinching victory on the season’s final day. In 180 ⅔ innings, Guzmán permitted only six home runs, the circuit’s stingiest rate. “I think anyone will tell you, when he’s healthy he’s the best pitcher in the American League,” remarked Detroit manager Sparky Anderson.42

Guzmán beat the Athletics twice in the ALCS, winning Game Three in Oakland and Game Six at SkyDome to secure the Blue Jays’ first-ever pennant. With the World Series even after two contests in Atlanta, Guzmán dueled southpaw Steve Avery in Game Three and held the Braves to two runs (one earned) over eight innings before departing with the score tied, 2-2. He received a no-decision when Toronto prevailed in the bottom of the ninth. Guzmán’s potential Game Seven start became unnecessary when the Blue Jays triumphed, four games to two.

In spring training 1993, a bout with the flu cost Guzmán precious preseason innings which affected his feel for the release point on his changeup throughout the season.43 His ERA climbed to 3.99 and he threw 26 wild pitches to set an AL record.44 Nevertheless, he tossed his first major-league shutout against the Royals on April 29 and notched the first of his four career 11-strikeout games against the Athletics on June 5. By season’s end, Guzmán had worked a personal-best 221 innings and posted a 14-3 record to lead the American League with an .824 winning percentage as the Blue Jays won a third consecutive division title.

Toronto’s rotation included veteran stars like Jack Morris and Dave Stewart, plus 19-game winner Pat Hentgen, but manager Cito Gaston opted to pitch Guzmán –winner of his last seven decisions– in the 1993 ALCS opener against the White Sox at Comiskey Park. “Juan has been our ace since he came to the big leagues,” said second baseman Roberto Alomar.45 Guzmán walked a career-worst eight, but defeated that season’s Cy Young Award winner, Jack McDowell, 7-3. With the series deadlocked at two games apiece, he hurled seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball to beat McDowell again in Game Five. After the Blue Jays clinched another pennant, Guzmán faced the Phillies’ Curt Schilling in the World Series opener. In five innings, he allowed four runs and received a no-decision in a contest that Toronto won, 8-5. With a chance to deliver the Blue Jays’ second consecutive championship in Game Five at Veterans Stadium, Guzmán held Philadelphia to two runs (one earned) over seven innings but suffered his first-ever postseason loss as Schilling tossed a shutout to keep the home team alive. Toronto eventually prevailed in six games.

Guzmán was the Blue Jays’ Opening Day pitcher in 1994 and defeated Chicago’s McDowell. Although his pitch counts were always high due to his lofty strikeout and walks totals, the issue became more problematic as he nibbled around the corners. “That doesn’t drive me crazy, but it does make me worry for him and his career,” remarked Gaston after a May 16 start in which the pitcher needed 105 pitches to labor through only 5 ⅓ innings.46 Guzmán’s 25 starts tied for the league lead, but he needed a 6-2 finish to complete the strike-shortened season with a 12-11 record. During a year in which the overall AL ERA climbed from 4.32 to 4.80, Guzmán’s figure soared over 5.00 to stay in April and wound up at 5.32. “I just didn’t have my good velocity. My changeup is my third pitch, my slider is my second, my fastball is my best pitch,” he explained. “I didn’t have my best pitch.”47

While Guzmán had always been a fitness fanatic –running stadium steps for an hour every non-pitching day, for example– he added more pounds and repetitions to his offseason weight workouts in an effort to gain strength.48 Though Guzmán didn’t pitch winter ball for the third straight year, Ramón Martínez told reporters about a star-studded softball team in Santo Domingo. “I play first base,” Martinez said. “[Marlins’ prospect Quilvio Veras] plays second, [Expos’ outfielder] Moisés Alou plays center field, Juan Guzmán is the designated hitter and [Montreal pitcher] Pedro [Martínez plays second or DH.”49

Back on the mound in 1995, Guzmán endured a nightmarish season. His ERA was 9.78 in four starts when he was placed on the disabled list May 21 with a muscle imbalance in his throwing shoulder. He returned to the DL in August with soreness in his right armpit. His lost five consecutive starts upon returning to extend his personal losing streak to nine in a row, matching Jeff Byrd’s 1977 Blue Jays’ record for futility by a right-handed pitcher.50 Despite winning in Boston and allowing only one earned run over 15 innings in his last two starts, Guzmán finished the season with an ugly 4-14 record and 6.32 ERA. Since Toronto couldn’t slash his $2.8 million salary by more than 20-percent, it seemed unlikely that they would tender him a 1996 contract. However, in December, the club relented and guaranteed a one-year deal for $2.24 million. “We feel there’s some unfinished business that Juan has as a Blue Jay,” explained GM Gord Ash.51

For the first time in four winters, Guzmán pitched for Licey, making two regular-season starts. After posting a 0.50 ERA in 18 playoff innings, he joined the champion Águilas Cibaeñas for the Caribbean Series in Santo Domingo. The Dominican squad disappointed in front of their home fans, but Guzmán looked sharp in a seven-inning, three-hit no-decision against Mexico.52 In spring training 1996, he changed his uniform number from 66 to 57. “I changed a lot of things, not only my number. I changed a lot of personal problems that I cannot explain to anybody,” he said. “I’m going to be a new me this year.”53

Guzmán looked like his old self in April, claiming AL Pitcher of the Month honors after going 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA. His record briefly slipped below .500 in mid-June following his return from a 15-day disabled list stint for a strained pectoral muscle, but he soon righted himself.54 Heading into his scheduled September 7 start at Yankee Stadium, Guzmán was 11-8 and walking fewer batters than ever. His 3:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio led the American League, as did his 2.93 ERA, 1.124 WHIP and 7.6 hits allowed per-nine-innings. He was hospitalized that day after experiencing chest pains, however, and missed the remainder of the season following an emergency appendectomy.55

The Blue Jays rewarded Guzmán with a two-year contract worth $9.5 million, with a third-year vesting option based on innings pitched.56 He made his final five appearances for Licey that winter, three in the playoffs. Over parts of eight seasons with the Tigres, he was 10-7 with a 2.57 ERA in 37 games (27 starts), plus 6-1, 1.73 in 16 playoff outings (15 starts).

In winning his first two starts of 1997, Guzmán looked strong, but he allowed a career-worst four home runs in Texas before April was over and left two May starts early with shoulder soreness and arm fatigue. Then he broke the thumb on his pitching hand fielding a grounder on May 28 and went on the disabled list for a month.57 After Guzmán failed to survive five innings in three of four starts when he returned –including another four-homer debacle– he returned to the DL on July 16 with a shoulder strain. He pitched a total of four innings in two August rehab starts in Single-A before undergoing season-ending surgery to remove bone spurs and repair a torn labrum.58

Guzmán’s ERA was over 5.00 until after the All-Star Break in 1998 and he lost 12 of his first 16 decisions. He was healthy enough to make all his starts, however, and improved as the season progressed. On July 30, for example, he beat the Rangers by hurling the first eight innings of a 1-0 victory in what proved to be the last appearance of his Toronto career. After enduring four straight losing seasons, the once mighty Blue Jays were under .500 again and dealt Guzmán to the Orioles for fellow Dominican Nerio Rodríguez and minor-leaguer Shannon Carter the next day at the trading deadline.

Former Toronto second baseman Roberto Alomar helped Guzmán win his Baltimore debut with a leadoff home run and starting an inning-ending double play. “I’ll keep saying it, Robbie’s the best player I ever played with,” Guzmán said. In 11 starts for the Orioles, Guzmán was 4-4 with a 4.24 ERA to finish 10-16 overall. While that record earned him a share of the AL lead in losses, he triggered the 1999 option on his contract by exceeding 200 innings pitched for the first time in five years.59

On June 12, 1999, during an interleague contest in Atlanta, Guzmán –a career .118 hitter– stroked an RBI single off Kevin Millwood for his first big-league hit. Seven weeks later, he was dealt at the trade deadline for the second straight year. Guzmán was 5-9 with a 4.18 ERA in 21 starts when the sub-.500 Orioles swapped him to the Reds for future closer B.J. Ryan and minor-leaguer Jacobo Sequea. In a dozen National League appearances, Guzmán went 6-3 with a 3.03 ERA to help Cincinnati win 96 games –the franchise’s best result in a 35-year span from 1977-2011. The Reds missed the playoffs, however. After finishing one game behind the Astros in the NL Central, Cincinnati lost a one-game tiebreaker to the Mets for the league’s lone wild card spot.

That offseason, Guzmán became a free agent and signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in January.60 His debut for his new team proved to be the last game of his major league career. After Guzmán surrendered eight runs in 1 ⅔ innings to the Cleveland Indians on April 7, 2000, he was placed on the disabled list with tendinitis. He worked a total of 20 innings over four rehab starts with three different Tampa Bay minor-league affiliates before undergoing rotator cuff surgery in July.61 In 2001, Guzmán made a dozen minor-league starts before retiring. His 10-year major league career ended with a 91-79 record and 4.08 ERA in 240 starts, plus a 5-1, 2.44 mark in eight postseason games. In 2012, he was inducted into the Dominican Republic’s Hall of Fame.62

By the mid-1990s, Guzmán had started baseball, softball, basketball and volleyball leagues in Santo Domingo, providing outlets for thousands of Dominican youngsters. His off-field life, however, largely remained a mystery even to his teammates. “I don’t like to mix my personal life with baseball,” Guzmán explained. “I can’t tell you a lot except that he’s a very private person,” Cito Gaston once said. “If you find anything out, let me know.”63 Although the 1992 Blue Jays media guide listed Guzmán’s wife name as Anita, the Globe and Mail reporter who asked about her wrote, “Guzmán says he’s single and that baseball is his whole life.”64 According to a 1996 Ottawa Citizen article, Guzmán had two daughters.65 The 1999 Orioles Media Guide listed three children: Juan, Jr., Joanny and Kristy.66 In 2021, Guzmán’s own Facebook page listed a daughter, Rohana, and son, Marvin.67

In 1999, Guzmán became a Christian minister, which he described as a turning point in his life.68 Since at least 2004, he’s been married to the former Ana Delia Martínez. Ana is the sister of Juan’s longtime friends, former big-league pitchers Ramón and Pedro Martínez.69 As of 2021 they lived in Miami and focused on the Juan Guzmán Foundation. In addition to constructing the Juan Guzmán Sports Complex in the Dominican Republic, the foundation sought to fight hunger and poverty throughout Latin America.70

Last revised: June 9, 2021

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Eric Vickrey and David Bilmes and fact-checked by Kevin Larkin.

Sources

In addition to sources cited in the Notes, the author also consulted www.baseball-reference.com and www.retrosheet.org.

Dominican League statistics from https://stats.winterballdata.com/players?key=1738 (subscription service).

Notes

1 Juan Guzmán, Player Publicity Questionnaire, November 1, 1985.

2 Rosie DiManno, “The Great Juan,” Toronto Star, October 10, 1991: A1.

3 Larry Millson, “Guzmán Seeks Spot in Starting Rotation, But Still a Long Shot,” Globe and Mail (Toronto), February 24, 1989: A19.

4 Allan Ryan, “The Heat is On Young Guzmán in Encore Year,” Toronto Star, February 26, 1992: C1.

5 Joe Donnelly, “Worth Waiting For,” Newsday (New York, New York), October 9, 1991: 157.

6 DiManno, “The Great Juan.”

7 Neil MacCarl, “Juan Guzmán: From ‘Good Arm, Good Person’ to All-Star,” Globe and Mail, July 11, 1992: A16.

8 MacCarl, “Juan Guzmán: From ‘Good Arm, Good Person’ to All-Star.”

9 Steve Fainaru, “Guzmán Self-Made Overachiever,” Ottawa Citizen, October 2, 1991: C3.

10 DiManno, “The Great Juan.”

11 MacCarl, “Juan Guzmán: From ‘Good Arm, Good Person’ to All-Star.”

12 Ross Newhan, “Guzmán: Another Dodger Who Got Away,” Los Angeles Times, October 11, 1991: C6.

13 Millson, “Guzmán Seeks Spot in Starting Rotation, But Still a Long Shot.”

14 Juan Guzmán, 1993 Donruss Studio Baseball Card.

15 Newhan, “Guzmán: Another Dodger Who Got Away.”

16 MacCarl, “Juan Guzmán: From ‘Good Arm, Good Person’ to All-Star.”

17 Millson, “Guzmán Seeks Spot in Starting Rotation, But Still a Long Shot.”

18 Newhan, “Guzmán: Another Dodger Who Got Away.”

19 MacCarl, “Juan Guzmán: From ‘Good Arm, Good Person’ to All-Star.”

20 Millson, “Guzmán Seeks Spot in Starting Rotation, But Still a Long Shot.”

21 Millson, “Guzmán Seeks Spot in Starting Rotation, But Still a Long Shot.”

22 Bob Ryan, “Guzmán in Complete Control,” Boston Globe, October 10, 1991: 59.

23 Ryan, “The Heat is On Young Guzmán in Encore Year.”

24 MacCarl, “Juan Guzmán: From ‘Good Arm, Good Person’ to All-Star.”

25 Larry Millson, “Well-Rested Guzmán Faces Bosox in Opener,” Globe and Mail, August 4, 1995: C11.

26 MacCarl, “Juan Guzmán: From ‘Good Arm, Good Person’ to All-Star.”

27 DiManno, “The Great Juan.”

28 “Armed with a Work Ethic,” Windsor Star, July 13, 1992: C1.

29 Juan Guzmán, 1992 Donruss Baseball Card.

30 Juan Guzmán, 1992 Donruss Baseball Card.

31 Juan Guzmán, 1992 Upper Deck Team Heroes Holograms Baseball Card.

32 Newhan, “Guzmán: Another Dodger Who Got Away.”

33 Dave Perkins, “Bring Back Guzmán to Start in Fifth Game,” Toronto Star, 10/10/91: D1.

34 Newhan, “Guzmán: Another Dodger Who Got Away.”

35 DiManno, “The Great Juan.”

36 Chris Young, “Juan Guzmán’s Cool Under Fire,” Toronto Star, October 11, 1991: F3.

37 MacCarl, “Juan Guzmán: From ‘Good Arm, Good Person’ to All-Star.”

38 “Slider,” The Sporting News, July 11, 1994: 15.

39 Larry Millson, “Guzmán’s Pleased with Progress on Crucial Changeup,” Globe and Mail, March 19, 1994: A19.

40 Ryan, “The Heat is On Young Guzmán in Encore Year.”

41 “Sore-Shoulder Guzmán Put On DL,” Ottawa Citizen, August 6, 1992: C10.

42 “Jays Soaked in Joe,” Calgary Herald, October 4, 1992: E1.

43 Millson, “Guzmán’s Pleased with Progress on Crucial Changeup.”

44 1999 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 98.

45 Mike Downey, “Guzmán’s No-Look Class in the Stuff of Pennants,” Los Angeles Times, October 11, 1993: 1.

46 Steve Milton, “At Last, A Win; Even if it Only is Detroit,” Spectator (Hamilton, Ontario), May 17,1994: D3.

47 Mark Zwolinski, “Guzmán’s Fastball in Hopping Form in Exhibition Debut,” Toronto Star, April 16, 1995: B4.

48 Zwolinski, “Guzmán’s Fastball in Hopping Form in Exhibition Debut.”

49 Earl Bloom, “Final Hurdle to Martinez’s No-Hitter Wasn’t a Stranger,” Orange County Register, July 16, 1995: C12.

50 1999 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 98.

51 Mark Zwolinksi, “Guzmán Signs But ‘Penalty’ Cut to Cost $560,000,” Toronto Star, December 21, 1995: D5.

52 Larry Millson, “Guzmán Gives Jays Reason for Optimism,” Globe and Mail, February 9, 1996: C11.

53 Stephen Brunt, “New, Changed Guzmán Offers Jays Good News,” Globe and Mail, March 4, 1996: C8.

54 1999 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 98.

55 “Guzmán Expected to Miss Rest of Season,” Los Angeles Times, September 8, 1996: 11.

56 Rod Beaton, “Guzmán Re-signs with Jays For $9.5M, Two Years,” USA Today, November 14, 1996: C5.

57 1999 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 98.

58 “Guzmán Has Surgery on Right Shoulder,” Standard (St. Catharines, Ontario), September 12, 1997: C1.

59 Dave Buscema, “As O(s) Canada Refrain,” York (Pennsylvania) Daily Record, August 6, 1998: B1.

60 “Guzmán Gets $12 Million,” Times-Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia), January 9, 2000: D8.

61 “Guzmán to Have Surgery,” New York Times, June 26, 2000: D3.

62 “Lanzador Juan Guzmán Irá a Salón de la Fama,” Listín Diario (Dominican Republic), October 2, 2012, https://listíndiario.com/el-deporte/2012/10/02/249362/lanzador-juan-guzmán-ira-a-salon-de-la-fama (last accessed March 8, 2021).

63 Jim Byers, “Guzmán is Juan Mysterious Guy,” Ottawa Citizen, August 24, 1996: G3.

64 MacCarl, “Juan Guzmán: From ‘Good Arm, Good Person’ to All-Star.”

65 Byers, “Guzmán is Juan Mysterious Guy.”

66 1999 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 98.

67 Juan Guzmán, https://www.facebook.com/juan.guzmán.58760608/about_family_and_relationships (last accessed March 8, 2021).

68 Yamell Rossi Jesni, “Juan Guzmán, Con la Misión de Dios de Ayudar al Prójimo,” Diario Libre, November 18, 2017, https://www.diariolibre.com/deportes/beisbol/juan-guzmán-con-la-mision-de-dios-de-ayudar-al-projimo-YF8610735 (last accessed March 8, 2021).

69 Rose Marie Santana, “Pitcher Juan Guzmán: ‘Es Una Grave Tragedia lo Occurido a Big Papi ed RD,” Diario Digital (Dominican Republic), June 11, 2019, https://www.diariodigital.com.do/2019/06/11/pitcher-juan-guzmán-es-una-grave-tragedia-lo-ocurrido-a-big-papi-en-rd.html (last accessed March 8, 2021).

70 “Juan Guzmán Foundation,” https://www.juanguzmánfoundation.org/about-us/ (last accessed March 8, 2021).