Marcell Ozuna in Home Run Derby spotlight years after arrests: ‘I pray people can forgive’

Marcell Ozuna, known as the “Big Bear,” was laughing with his teammates, offering unsolicited batting tips, and making everyone in the Atlanta clubhouse feel like they just saw their therapist. He motioned the reporter to his locker.

It was time to talk.

This is the story of Ozuna’s dramatic rise from his lowest of lows. As he begins to talk, he shuts his eyes and allows those dark memories to return momentarily.

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

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

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

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

He was arrested again in August 2022 for driving under the influence of alcohol. He entered a no-contest plea, requiring him to pay a $1,000 fine.

Life was no better on the field. He hit .085 with a .194 on-base percentage and .203 slugging percentage the first month of the 2023 season. He was booed in Atlanta and ultimately benched, with the fanbase calling for him to be released.

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

There has been no greater offensive player in the National League since May 2, 2023. He is hitting .300 with 64 homers, a major-league-leading 175 RBI, 137 runs, and a .595 slugging percentage. The only hitters in baseball with more homers since last May are Shohei Ohtani (66) and Aaron Judge (65).

“I can’t say I even dreamed this would happen to me,” Ozuna says. “How could I? I mean, I had one step here, and one step 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 your pocket, and close it up.”

Just like that, he’s a National League All-Star, an MVP candidate, a Home Run Derby participant, and beloved again in Atlanta.

“It couldn’t happen to a better guy in this clubhouse,” Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley says. “He’s one of the best teammates that I ever had. He’s engaged with everyone. Everyone loves him. He makes all of us better.”

Says second baseman Ozzie Albies: “He’s everything you want in a friend and a teammate. Even when he went through all of that stuff and was booed so much, he never changed in here. He always cared about us.”

But there are no excuses, 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 youngest kids (7- and 9-year-old boys and a 14-year-old daughter) to see me play in the All-Star Game since my two youngest were too young to remember the last time,” says Ozuna, who made the All-Star team in 2016 and 2017 with the Miami Marlins. “That’s why I’m doing the Home Run Derby too.”

Ozuna, who also agreed to be part of the National League’s home run slugging field as part of a tiebreaker if the game ends in a tie, is doing this 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 starter Madison Bumgarner, who was in the third year of an $85 million contract, and the Yankees released outfielder Aaron Hicks, who was still owed $27.6 million.

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

“I give Snit a ton of credit because he kept playing him,” Anthopoulos said. “It wasn’t a front-office directive. Snit made that decision. He was convinced he’d find it. He kept believing in him, saying what a great person and teammate he was. He was struggling so much, but he never pouted. He never moped. He never changed.’’

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

Snitker sat down with Ozuna in late April 2023 and told him he had the option to go to the minors for a short stint, find his stroke, and come back when he was ready. Ozuna could stay, but he was going to be benched for a while. Ozuna stayed, pressed reset, and after returning to the lineup on May 2, hit .297 with nine homers and 20 RBI for the month – never looking 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 down, they’re down, so I wanted to be positive. Really, I just needed to clear my head.”

Atlanta center fielder Michael Harris, 22, hitting .167 with two homers and seven RBI in May that year, says there wasn’t a day that went by when Ozuna didn’t talk to him. He talked to him about his hitting mechanics, his mental approach, and building his confidence.

“I can’t tell you how much he meant to me,” Harris says. “I mean, he’s going through everything himself, and here he is, more worried about me. He got me back on my feet, and since then, giving me that confidence I needed.”

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

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

“We had some tough conversations over that time. He did a great job being accountable. I have a lot of respect for what he did, what he came through, and where he’s at right now. He’s a good man. A good person.

“I really respect the man.”

Even when Ozuna was going through his troubles, placed on administrative leave, undergoing counseling, and being away from the game he loves, his exuberant personality never changed. He blamed himself, no one else, and he wasn’t going to let it erode his soul.

“He went from being loved and cheered to being booed every single day,” says Gio Rodriguez, his agent. “He’s a human being, and when you’re used to pumping everybody up around you, and then become the villain, it’s tough. They were dragging him through the mud, and he wore it. It’s like, ‘Is this where my career dies?’

“It was so tough on him, but he never shifted any blame. He owned up to what he did, and that situation, knowing how inappropriate his behavior was.”

The charges were dropped after Ozuna went through a pretrial diversion program, a 24-week family violence intervention program, an anger management course, and 200 hours of community service.

Ozuna received a 20-game suspension from MLB, showed up to spring training in 2023, and apologized to his teammates. He never wanted to be a distraction, he told them. He never wanted to embarrass the organization. He asked for a chance to earn their forgiveness.

“You don’t know if this thing is going to keep snowballing,” Rodriguez says, “but everybody stuck with him. It happened. There was no going back. But to his credit, he bounced back, and his career has come full circle.”

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