ESPN.com news services 14y

Royals' Guillen: 'I almost died last year'

MLB, Kansas City Royals

Kansas City Royals outfielder Jose Guillen says blood clots in his legs nearly killed him last September.

"I almost died last year," he said in an interview with The Kansas City Star. "Both of my legs. I had to stay in St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City for 20 days [in the offseason] just lying in bed.

"My legs were so big, so swollen up. They were purple. I couldn't even walk on them. I couldn't feel my legs. That was right after my ankle surgery and the surgery on my lower back.

"I went to the hospital, and I was crying because I couldn't feel my leg. I was thinking, 'What's going on here?' "

Guillen suffered through an injury-plagued 2009 season. He had a partial tear of his right hip flexor and sprained his right knee. He returned in September, but was sidelined by what the team called "right leg injuries."

"I won't play anymore for the rest of the season to recover well from the injury," Guillen told ESPNdeportes.com's Enrique Rojas on Sept. 5. "It's a team decision. I feel bad sitting down while my teammates are playing hard on the field."

"After reviewing Jose's situation, we are just going to shut him down for the rest of the year and give him an opportunity to get his body as healthy and strong as possible going into spring training next year," Royals manager Trey Hillman said at the time. "He will not be playing any more ballgames this season."

Turns out, Guillen had clots that forced doctors to talk to him about the possibility of dying.

"I lost all of my strength, and I was real skinny," he told the Star. His weight dropped to 180 pounds. "I thought I would never play baseball again. I just got off the medication a week before spring training."

This season, Guillen -- in the final year of a three-year, $36 million contract, which makes him the highest-paid position player in Royals history -- is off to a sizzling start, with five home runs and a .361 batting average in his first nine games.

"I still haven't gotten all of my strength back," Guillen said, according to the Star. "I'm telling you, bro, this stuff really killed me in the offseason."

^ Back to Top ^