Houston Has Become Cuban Esquina Caliente
HOUSTON – Yuli Gurriel, Yordan Álvarez and Aledmys Díaz can usually be found together. The Cuban trio’s locker stalls are near each other in the Astros’ clubhouse, and they’re often socializing away from the field when the club is on the road.
They share a bond and history that is much different than other major leaguers because they each had to defect their beloved island to chase their big league dreams. Since the late Fidel Castro took over, Cuban big leaguers have fled their island knowing they would likely never see many friends, family and loved ones again.
All three have played important roles in helping the Astros to the best record in the American League while Álvarez has become the favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award.
“We know all the difficulties that we went through to get here,” said Díaz, a utility infielder who was an All-Star as a rookie in 2016 with the Cardinals. “I think it’s important for us to support each other. In my case, I know how difficult the first years in the big leagues were. Any time I have a chance to help the kids coming up I will do it.”
Álvarez, who already set the Astros franchise record for home runs by a rookie with 24 over 72 games, has credited Díaz with mentoring him as as he battered Pacific Coast League pitching this season at Class AAA Round Rock before he was promoted to the majors in June.
Díaz, 29, sent motivational text messages to Álvarez often in April, May and June, encouraging the 6-foot-5, 225-pound slugger to remain positive and to believe in himself.
Díaz reminded Álvarez that he would be up in the majors soon.
Álvarez, a 22-year-old from Las Tunas, wasted no time validating Díaz’s belief in him. He homered in his big league debut and has won the AL Rookie of the Month Award for three consecutive months.
Gurriel, one of the greatest names in Team Cuba history, has also helped ease Álvarez’s transition into the majors.
“When you have an established major league player like Yuli Gurriel or Aledmys Díaz and they can help integrate some of the younger Cuban players, it makes the transition smoother,” Astros president of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow said. “We need to remember sometimes these are young kids who leave their home country and then have to go maybe to two or three other countries before they ever get to the states.
“So they have to learn, not just one different culture but sometimes two or three on their way. Then they have to figure out the game of baseball and how they progress up the ladder.”
They have already made quite a bit of franchise history. On July 22, they each homered to give the Astros home runs by three Cubans in a game for the first time in team history.
It was only the second time in Major League Baseball history that a trio of Cuban teammates homered in the same game. That feat hadn’t been accomplished since the White Sox’s Alexei Ramirez, Jose Abreu and Dayan Viciedo homered on June 27, 2014, against the Blue Jays.
On Aug. 7, Gurriel drove in eight runs to tie the Astros record for most RBI in a game while also tying the mark for most RBI in a major league game by a Cuban.
Álvarez, Gurriel and Díaz aren’t the only Cubans who have played for the Astros this year. They’ve actually had five Cubans.
The Astros became the first team since the 1969 Reds to have five Cuban natives appear in the same roster when they featured five on June 14. Pitchers Rogelio Armenteros and Cionel Perez were the other two. They have shuttled between the majors and Class AAA Round Rock this year.
“That’s excellent,” Gurriel said. “It’s a great emotion to know there are five Cubans, and it’s the first time that a big league team has five Cubans (since 1969). It’s an honor to be part of this team.
“Truly, we give them all our support. Because we have a bit more time in the majors here, we try to tell them how things are so that things are a big easier for them.”
No MLB team had used five Cuban natives in a season since the Reds had Hall of Famer Tony Perez, righthander Camilo Pascual, infielders Chico Ruiz and Mike de la Hoz, and righthander Pedro Ramos in 1969.
“It’s fun to see a guy like Armenteros get here after a lot of years and working hard and playing well and being on the cusp for the last couple of years but finally breaking through, and it’s nice,” Luhnow said. “You have a young kid like Álvarez, who is clearly on the trajectory to be a superstar in this game, but he carries himself with the maturity of somebody in their mid to late 20s, yet he’s still 22.”
Álvarez has been one of the biggest stories of the year in the AL. He already has a three-home run game, which is something that even the only Cuban big leaguer in the Hall of Fame never accomplished.
Tony Perez hit 379 home runs during his Hall of Fame career. The seven-time All-Star had 17 multi-home run games, but he never hit more than two in a game. Álvarez already has four two-homer games and one three-homer game.
He’ll likely be a unanimous selection for the AL Rookie of the Year Award.
More importantly, he’ll give the Astros a distinct Cuban flair as they attempt to win the franchise’s second World Series title this October.
“It’s a great source of pride and an honor to see so many Cubans here,” Álvarez said. “They help me in everything possible to make the transition, but it’s not just them. The whole team tries to help me.”
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