Cuban missile display in Houston
HOUSTON – Apollo 11 Night at Minute Maid Park quickly became a Cuban Missile display Tuesday for the Astros, who made a little history with rookie phenom Yordan Álvarez, Cuban baseball legend Yuli Gurriel and former All-Star Aledmys Díaz.
For only the second time in Major League Baseball history, a trio of Cuban teammates homered in the same game as Álvarez, Gurriel and Díaz sent souvenirs into the stands on a night Astros teammate Gerrit Cole completely dominated the A’s.
The White Sox’s Alexei Ramírez, José Abreu and Dayan Viciedo are the only other trio of Cuban teammates to homer in the same big league game. They accomplished the feat on June 27, 2014, against the Blue Jays.
It’s rare for a team to have three Cuban players in the lineup, as the Astros did Monday night against the A’s after Díaz was activated from the disabled list. It’s even more rare, obviously, to have them all homer on the same night.
Yet, the Astros definitely have a Cuban flavor with the potential to cook up such feats several times this season.
Actually, it has been half a century since a big league team has had the Cuban flavor the Astros have displayed this season.
On June 14, the Astros became the first team since the 1969 Reds to have five Cuban natives appear in the same roster. Pitchers Rogelio Armenteros and Cionel Pérez are the other two. They have shuttled between the majors and Class AAA Round Rock this year.
No MLB team had used five Cuban natives in a season since the Reds had Hall of Famer Tony Pérez, righthander Camilo Pascual, infielders Chico Ruiz and Mike de la Hoz, and righthander Pedro Ramos in 1969.
“It’s very impressive and gratifying,” Cionel Pérez, Sr., said of having his son on a team with so many Cubans earlier this year. “To have that talent at home with that aptitude, to be able to get to a place where they can make a future and show what they are, it’s a blessing of God for them, for their families and for the city of Houston at this moment because that’s where they’re playing.”
Pérez was sent back to Round Rock on June 18, and Díaz had been on the disabled list from May 27 until he was activated on Monday.
Álvarez has been on a tear, though, winning the American League Rookie of the Month in June to establish his candidacy as a legitimate Rookie of the Year contender. Although the Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has had more national exposure, Álvarez has been as impressive, if not more.
Gurriel got off to a modest start before becoming one of the best players in baseball over the last month.
On Monday, that Cuban trio was active in a major league game together for the first time. They definitely thrived.
Álvarez, 22, batted fifth in the Astros’ potent offense. Gurriel, 35, batted sixth. Díaz, 28, batted ninth in his return from a left hamstring strain that forced him to miss 47 games.
The rookie from Las Tunas got the home run barrage going in the second inning, drilling his shot 410 feet to give the Astros a 1-0 lead.
An inning later Sancti Spiritus native Gurriel hit his blast 396 feet to drive in Álvarez with a two-run shot. Three batters later, Santa Clara’s Díaz hit a three-run shot 379 feet to make Cuban big league history.
Gurriel added another RBI in the third with a modest single. He finished the night 3-for-3 with three RBI while establishing a personal single-season high with 19 home runs so far.
He is also hitting .422 (19-for-45) with five homers and 13 RBI during his 11-game hitting streak.
More impressively, perhaps, Álvarez is on a better RBI pace than the legendary Albert Pujols had during his 2001 NL Rookie of the Year season with the Cardinals.
With two more RBI on Monday against the A’s, he has a major-league record 35 RBI over his first 35 games. Pujols had 34 RBI over his first 30 games, which in 2001 made the Cardinals rookie the talk of baseball.
Álvarez’s 11 home runs are third most in baseball history over the first 30 games of a career.
“It’s an honor to be part of this team,” Gurriel said when asked about the distinct Cuban flavor recently. “Truly, we give each other all our support.”
Featured Image: Icon Sportswire
Inset Image: La Vida Baseball