KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -Royals general manager Dayton Moore said he met with Jose Guillen after the outfielder confronted a heckling fan Tuesday night.
Guillen had to be restrained by catcher Miguel Olivo, third-base coach Luis Silverio and others when a fan down the right field line harassed him in the fourth inning of a 2-1 loss to the Texas Rangers.
``It's an unfortunate situation. It really is,'' Moore said Wednesday. ``Jose has got to remain focused to what happens on the baseball field. It is certainly inappropriate to engage in any conversation with the fans during a game. You need to ignore it and respond in a way that doesn't draw attention to yourself. We'll just continue to work with Jose about managing what he says and how he responds. It is something we continue to manage.''
This is Guillen's fourth public outburst this season. He has called his teammates ``babies'' during a 12-game losing streak in May, made profanity-laced comments in June saying he could ``care less about'' fans who were booing him, and had to be separated from pitching coach Bob McClure on July 5 in a clubhouse confrontation in Tampa Bay.
``The fans have a right to act and say things as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights of the other fans,'' Moore said. ``Hopefully, it gets to the point in a society where fans don't accept rude behavior.''
Royals manager Trey Hillman said he missed Guillen's confrontation with the fan.
``I was actually in the toilet, so I didn't see it,'' Hillman said. ``Managers do have to use the restroom and I guess I picked a bad time to be in the restroom. I found out about it a half inning later. We talked about it briefly. There's no sense on commenting on it.''
The Royals said the fan was moved from his seat in right field - Guillen started in right on Tuesday - and placed in a seat down the left field line, but was not removed from the stadium. He said if the fan had been using profanity that they are usually warned first and then removed from the stadium if there are complaints.
``It was probably the right thing to do to avoid confrontation,'' Moore said.
Guillen, who at $12 million a season is the highest paid player in franchise history, entered Wednesday hitting .249, but led the club with 17 home runs and 80 RBIs.
``I understand who I am and the money that I'm making,'' Guillen said. ``I understand that I'm hitting .250, and the fans are expecting a lot more than they're seeing. But the word he said, trust me, anybody would want to go there.''
