Atlanta's Marcell Ozuna in Home Run Derby spotlight after arrests

ARLINGTON, Texas — Marcell Ozuna, the “Big Bear,” laughs with his teammates, gives them unsolicited hitting advice and makes everyone in the Atlanta locker room look like they just saw their therapist, but motions for the reporter to go to his locker.

It’s time to talk.

It’s the story of Ozuna’s spectacular rise from the lowest of lows, but as he begins to speak, he closes his eyes and momentarily allows those dark memories to return.

“I’m sorry, I know I made a mistake, but I’m a better person now,” Ozuna told USA TODAY Sports. “We all made mistakes. Me too. But please don’t judge me for my mistake. I’m a human being.”

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“I’m not perfect,” Ozuna said quietly. “But nobody is, you know. Only God is.”

Ozuna, Atlanta’s All-Star designated hitter, is the story of baseball’s biggest comeback in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Globe Life Field.

He was arrested in May 2021 for battery and aggravated assault by strangulation against his wife, with police body camera footage appearing to show Ozuna grabbing him by the neck. He was placed on administrative leave and was eventually suspended 20 games by MLB, missing Atlanta’s run to the 2021 World Series championship.

He was arrested again in August 2022 for driving under the influence of alcohol. He pleaded not guilty, which resulted in him paying a $1,000 fine.

Life on the field wasn’t much better. He hit .085 with a .194 on-base percentage and a .203 slugging percentage through the first month of the 2023 season. He was booed in Atlanta and eventually benched, with fans calling for him to be released.

Less than 15 months later, Ozuna is one of the game’s best hitters, with a .304 batting average, 26 home runs, 77 RBIs and a .965 OPS. He set a franchise record for most RBIs before the All-Star break. He’s in pursuit of a historic Triple Crown, tied for third in batting average, second in home runs and first in RBIs.

Since May 2, 2023, there has been no better offensive player in the National League. He is hitting .300 with 64 home runs, 175 RBIs, 137 runs scored and a .595 slugging percentage, which is a major league high. The only hitters in baseball to hit more home runs since last May are Shohei Ohtani (66) and Aaron Judge (65).

“I can’t say I could have dreamed this would happen to me,” Ozuna said. “How could I? I mean, I had a stage here and a stage at home. I never wanted to be released. I just wanted to keep working hard, and when I got the opportunity, take it, put it in my pocket and shut it.”

That’s how he became a National League All-Star, an MVP candidate, a Home Run Derby participant and a favorite again in Atlanta.

“It couldn’t have happened to a better guy in this locker room,” Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley said. “He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had. He engages with everybody. Everybody loves him. He makes us all better.”

Second baseman Ozzie Albies said: “He’s everything you want in a friend and a teammate. Even when he’s been through all that and he’s been booed over and over, he’s never changed here. He’s always cared about us.”

But there is no excuse, Ozuna says. Nothing justifies his actions.

All that matters now is that he and his family are all together in Texas.

“I really wanted my younger kids (7- and 9-year-old boys and a 14-year-old girl) to see me play in the All-Star Game because my two youngest were too young to remember the last time,” said Ozuna, who was an All-Star in 2016 and 2017 with the Miami Marlins. “That’s why I also play in the Home Run Derby.”

Ozuna, who also agreed to be part of the National League’s home run-hitting group as part of a tiebreaker if the game ends in a tie, is doing that for all of Atlanta, too.

It would have been easy for the organization to give up on him and release him. Who knows, maybe they would have cut ties if he wasn’t in the third year of a four-year, $65 million contract. After all, the Arizona D-backs had just released veteran Madison Bumgarner, who was in the third year of an $85 million contract, and the Yankees released outfielder Aaron Hicks, who still had $27.6 million remaining.

Still, manager Brian Snitker didn’t want to give up on Ozuna. He watched him hit .373 in spring training. He refused to believe he was done after one bad month.

“I give Snit a lot of credit because he kept playing him,” Anthopoulos said. “It wasn’t a directive from management. Snit made that decision. He was confident he would figure it out. He kept believing in himself, saying what a great person he was and what a great teammate he was. He had a lot of struggles, but he never sulked. He never got depressed. He never changed.”

Atlanta hitting coach Kevin Seitzer said: “Really, he owes his career to Snit.”

Snitker spoke with Ozuna in late April 2023 and told him he had the option to go to the minor leagues for a short stint, regain his talent and come back when he was ready. Ozuna could stay, but he was going to be benched for a while. Ozuna stayed, hit reset and, after returning to the lineup on May 2, hit .297 with nine homers and 20 RBIs for the month — and never looked back.

“I didn’t want to leave my teammates,” Ozuna said. “I knew I wasn’t hitting. I wanted to stay and bring energy to my teammates. I thought I could still help that way.”

“If I’m depressed, they’re depressed, so I wanted to be positive. I just needed to clear my head.”

Atlanta center fielder Michael Harris, 22, who hit .167 with two homers and seven RBIs in May of that year, said not a day went by without Ozuna talking to him. He talked about his hitting mechanics, his mental approach, building his confidence.

“I can’t tell you how much he meant to me,” Harris said. “I mean, he’s going through all this himself, and now he’s even more worried about me. He got me back on my feet, and since then, he’s given me the confidence that I needed.”

The next thing Harris knows, he’s hitting .372 in June with a 1.005 OPS, and ends up hitting .393 with 18 homers, 57 RBIs and an .808 OPS, numbers nearly identical to his 2022 National League Rookie of the Year season.

“I’m very proud of Marcell, the person,” Snitker said. “What he’s been through, the struggles he’s had, the personal issues, the way he’s handled himself, he’s been through a lot. He’s shown why his teammates love him and appreciate him so much. He’s never stopped working and never stopped believing in himself.”

“We’ve had some tough conversations over this period. He’s done a great job of being responsible. I have a lot of respect for what he’s done, what he’s been through and where he is today. He’s a good man. A good person.

“I really respect this man.”

Even when Ozuna was going through tough times, being put on administrative leave, going to therapy and being away from the game he loved, his exuberant personality never changed. He blamed himself, no one else, and he wasn’t going to let that erode his soul.

“He went from being loved and cheered on to being booed every day,” says Gio Rodriguez, his agent. “He’s a human being, and when you’re used to motivating everyone around you, and then you become the bad guy, it’s tough. They were dragging him through the mud, and he dragged him through the mud. It was like, ‘Is this where my career is going to die?’”

“It was very hard for him, but he never blamed anyone. He acknowledged what he had done and the situation, knowing how inappropriate his behavior was.”

The charges were dropped after Ozuna completed a pretrial diversion program, a 24-week domestic violence intervention program, an anger management class and 200 hours of community service.

Ozuna was suspended 20 games by MLB, reported to spring training in 2023 and apologized to his teammates. He never meant to be a distraction, he told them. He never meant to embarrass the organization. He asked for a chance to earn their forgiveness.

“You never know if this story is going to continue to grow,” Rodriguez says, “but everyone supported him. It happened. There was no going back. But you have to recognize that he was able to bounce back and his career is now complete.”

Ozuna is going to have fun, wearing his fluorescent sleeves, shiny shoes and thick gold chains around his neck, and wants to make sure everyone else is having just as much fun.

“He brings a lot of energy,” Atlanta All-Star pitcher Chris Sale said. “Everybody gravitates toward him. He’s the guy to be around. Players look up to him for what he’s done, the experiences he’s had and what he does on the field, but also for who he is in the locker room.”

“These are the teammates you remember forever.”

Atlanta Red Sox veteran Jesse Chavez said: “You know what happened to him on and off the field, it’s hard for everybody to take. No matter how much you apologize. Nobody knows the story behind it.”

“But the fact is he’s been there every day, he’s been an incredible teammate… That’s why this All-Star Game means so much to him. Really, to all of us.”

Ozuna, who has a $16 million option for next season, would like to stay in Atlanta for the rest of his career. He knows he has to continue to prove himself, every day, and is committed to validating the trust they have in him.

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