The “MAGIC” Only Begins With Ozzie and The White Sox….
By: Chief Fred Maas

It is the eve of the World Series and there is a sense of magic this year that extends in so many directions and has so many connections to our city of Sunny Isles Beach, I cannot help but think this is destiny….It is the year, after such a long drought, it is truly the Chicago White Sox turn.

Now, many of you might think, who cares? But to others it is more than just a game. You see, die hard fans, Cubs or White Sox have been waiting since 1917 and longer to return to the stage to win a World Championship.

And it is going to take a Sunny Isles Beach resident to lead them to victory. Ozzie Guillen, the manager of the Chicago White Sox is a resident of our city. And he is a great guy and a proud resident at that. Many of the officers of the SIB police department know OZZIE and his family and we wish him every bit of good luck in the Series.

There are so many special connections to this year’s Series. Our Mayor Norman Edelcup hails from Chicago and is a White Sox fan who like myself has been rooting for a whole lot of years for their success. And just like last year when the Boston Red Sox were clearly the team of destiny to break the jinx and end the long drought, I believe it is our turn this year. And OZZIE will lead them.

My father, God Bless him, turns 80 years young this year. I told him that the White Sox are going to give him the present he has always wanted and never received. A World Series Championship! He was born and raised in Chicago and as a huge baseball fan and quite a ballplayer himself he woefully watched year after year at the also rans, near misses, and wait til next year’s. My father gave me the greatest tangible gift at age nine I ever wanted; my first baseball glove. And the next greatest gift he gave me was to teach me a love of the game and why. I took the rest from there. I have played all my life and I still play the game today. It has given me lessons in teamwork, discipline, friendship, camaraderie, and loyalty; the joys of winning and the disappointment of defeat. It teaches about life and hard work and what it takes to get to the top, even if its only in a local softball league. It creates a bond between father and son, brothers, school yard friendships and making new friends that last a lifetime. And in my case, the game gave me something I could never have afforded on my own: It gave me my college education thru a baseball scholarship at a local university. And that is why I treasured that greatest gift my dad gave me at age nine, the baseball glove, because it opened so many doors that lasted a lifetime.

I’m not sure how the World Series will turn out but at least we’re in the game. I first met “OZZIE” when Sgt. Don Reynolds and myself were volunteering as umpires in the local North Miami Beach Optimist Little League program. The City of Sunny Isles Beach helps sponsor that program. OZZIE’S son was playing in the program while OZZIE was the 3rd base coach of the Florida Marlins. He eventually moved on and was named the manager of the White Sox. And OZZIE manages the way he played; with a passion and a love for the game that I can only believe his father must have passed on to him. I don’t know how many years my father has left but I do know this. I will be spending this World Series with my dad, watching our team, my team, the Mayor’s team, Chicago’s team, OZZIE’S team, ‘cause that’s the team I want to be a part of …. Go White Sox and Congratulations OZZIE GUILLEN !!!

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