Lourdes Gurriel Sr.: ‘My son is not a bad person’

By César Augusto Márquez

Lourdes Gurriel Sr.’s first World Series in person turned from a fan’s delight to a father’s nightmare when his son, Houston Astros‘ first baseman Yulieski “Yuli” Gurriel, taunted the Dodgers’ Japanese starter Yu Darvish with a racist display in Game 3 on Friday.

The fallout placed the Gurriel family squarely under an uncomfortable spotlight, trying to integrate their notions of race after a lifetime in Cuba with the social norms of 2017 America.

“My son is not a bad person,” Lourdes Sr. said in Spanish during an interview with La Vida Baseball on Sunday during Game 5 at Houston’s Minute Maid Park.

Lourdes Sr. is baseball royalty — known in his day as a legendary outfielder who is counted among the best players ever from Cuba. He led his country to gold medals in seven Intercontinental Cups, six Baseball World Cups, four Pan American Games, the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle and the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

But this past weekend, instead of advising his son on how to adjust to Darvish’s three-quarter drop-and-drive delivery, he had to counsel Yuli on a completely non-baseball-related controversy. While the words chino and chinito may be catchall phrases for Asians, both in Cuba and in other parts of Latin America, the player crossed the line by also pulling back at the corners of his eyes, a universally unacceptable gesture.

“I told him to stay calm,” Lourdes Sr. said. “That’s not my son. My son is not who they are depicting in social media. You’ve seen what they’ve said about him. Any human being can make a mistake. You had to rectify it and he did.”

Yuli, a rookie at age 33 in his first full season in the majors, got an assist from Carlos Beltrán, 40, the senior statesman in the Astros’ clubhouse. In comments to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Beltrán said that he approached Yuli in the dugout in the eighth inning of Game 3 to explain the reprehensible nature of his actions.

“I said, ‘Man, we have to talk. There is a situation. You might need to address the media. There is going to be a lot of people,’” Beltrán told The Athletic.

According to Beltrán, when he asked Yuli what had happened, Gurriel answered, “Carlos, I wasn’t trying to offend him. I know I did that. And I’m trying to think about why I did it. I can’t remember why I did it. I know it looked inappropriate now that I’m watching it on the social media.’”

Beltrán served as an intermediary between Yuli and Darvish, Beltrán’s teammate on the Texas Rangers during the latter part of the 2016 season.

Through a series of texts, Beltrán vouched for Yuli’s character and said Gurriel wanted to apologize. In turn, Darvish indicated that he was willing to forgive and move on, as the Japanese pitcher later demonstrated with a magnanimous tweet.

Nonetheless, Major League Baseball’s justice was swift and harsh. On Saturday before Game 4, commissioner Rob Manfred announced that Yuli will be suspended five games at the start of the 2018 season and would have to undergo sensitivity training. Clearly shaken, Gurriel went 0-for-3 that night, striking out once and grounding into a double play.

In Game 5 on Sunday, Gurriel recovered his mojo, going 2-for-5 with a double and a home run, all part of an insane back-and-forth affair that went 10 innings, lasted 5 hours, 17 minutes and ended with 13-12 victory for the Astros, who now lead the World Series 3-2.

Afterward, Gurriel talked to a small gathering of reporters waiting by his locker.

“Emotionally, I need to recover my confidence after what happened on Friday,” Gurriel said in Spanish. “And frankly, I’m happy that the game turned out this way. It was very special to have hit one out, having my parents in the stands. They have supported me greatly throughout my career.”

Gurriel didn’t revisit his actions on Friday, instead looking ahead to Games 6 and 7 this Tuesday and Wednesday.

“I have to focus on the World Series, which has been difficult,” Gurriel said. “This could be the most important games of my life.”

Left unsaid was how he plans to deal with his tattered reputation going forward. That will be the most important thing Yuli Gurriel does in his career.

Featured Image: Alex Trautwig / MLB Photos / Getty Images