Wikipedia

Yuli Gurriel

  (Redirected from Yulieski Gourriel)
"Yulieski" redirects here. For the pitcher playing for the Cuban national team, see Yulieski González.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Gurriel and the second or maternal family name is Castillo.

Yulieski Gourriel Castillo (born June 9, 1984), commonly known as Yuli Gurriel and nicknamed "La Piña", is a Cuban professional baseball first baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB).[1] He previously played for Sancti Spiritus in the Cuban league and the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Gurriel is a former member of Cuba's national team,[2] and an Olympic Games gold medalist in 2004. Always a versatile infielder, he has also played shortstop, second base, and third base in the major leagues. He bats and throws right-handed.

Yuli Gurriel
Yulieski Gurriel on August 21, 2016.jpg
Gurriel with the Houston Astros in 2016
Houston Astros – No. 10
First baseman
Born: (1984-06-09) June 9, 1984 (age 37)
Sancti Spíritus, Cuba
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Professional debut
NPB: June 8, 2014, for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars
MLB: August 21, 2016, for the Houston Astros
NPB statistics
Batting average.305
Home runs11
Runs batted in30
MLB statistics
(through October 2, 2021)
Batting average.293
Home runs86
Runs batted in381
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Cuba
World Baseball Classic
Silver medal – second place 2006 San Diego Team
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Team
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Team
Baseball World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2003 Havana Team
Gold medal – first place 2005 Rotterdam Team
Silver medal – second place 2007 Taipei Team
Silver medal – second place 2009 Nettuno Team
Silver medal – second place 2011 Panama City Team
Intercontinental Cup
Gold medal – first place 2002 Havana Team
Gold medal – first place 2006 Taichung Team
Gold medal – first place 2010 Taichung Team
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2003 Santo Domingo Team
Gold medal – first place 2007 Rio de Janeiro Team
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Guadalajara Team
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Cartagena Team

The son of former Cuban player Lourdes Gurriel, Yulieski was regarded as the best player in Cuba in 2006.[3] At the World Baseball Classic in 2006, Major League Baseball scouts projected that Gurriel would be a first-round draft pick if he were eligible for the draft.[3] He defected from Cuba in 2016. Gurriel made his big league debut that year.[1]

In 2021, Gurriel won the American League (AL) batting title, becoming the second Cuban-born player to do so.

Baseball careerEdit

Cuban careerEdit

Gurriel had a solid season during the 2004–05 Cuban National Series, leading the league in hits and runs. However, he truly dominated in 2005–06, leading the series in RBIs, runs, and triples.[4] His 27 home runs, which also led the league, were one short of the record of 28.[5] Gurriel's batting average was .327, and his slugging percentage was .676. He played his Cuban career with Sancti Spíritus and Industriales of the Cuban National Series.

Cuban national teamEdit

Gurriel's contributions helped the national team win a gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics and World Cup of Baseball championships in 2003 and 2005. During the 2005 World Cup, he led all batters with eight home runs.

Gurriel played second base for the Cuban national baseball team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic,[2] making the final out for Cuba in their championship game loss to Japan. He batted .273 in the tournament, with a .342 on-base percentage and a .515 slugging percentage. Later in the finals of the 2008 Beijing Olympics tournament, he again made the final out, by grounding into a double play against South Korea.[6]

Gurriel played for Cuba again in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, as their third baseman. He batted .333 in the tournament with two home runs and 6 RBIs.

JapanEdit

On May 11, 2014, Gurriel signed a one-year contract with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.[7] He joined the team at midseason, and batted .305 with 11 home runs and 30 RBIs in 62 games.[8]

Defection from CubaEdit

In February 2016, Gurriel and his 22-year-old brother, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., defected after competing in the Caribbean World Series in the Dominican Republic.[9] In June, Major League Baseball declared Gurriel eligible to be signed by a major league team as a free agent.[10]

Nearly ten years prior, ESPN.com had erroneously reported that Gurriel and another Cuban national player, Eduardo Paret, had defected from Cuba and into Colombia.[11] Gurriel refuted this claim on August 1, 2006, stating that he returned to his home in Cuba immediately after the conclusion of the tournament in which the Cuban national team had been playing.[12]

Houston AstrosEdit

Minor leagues and Major League debut (2016)Edit

On July 16, 2016, Gurriel signed a five-year, $47.5 million contract with the Houston Astros.[13][14] He played a total of 15 games in the Astros' minor league system that year. He made his American debut in July with the Gulf Coast Astros of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, playing in two games. He was then promoted to the Lancaster JetHawks of the Class A-Advanced California League. After playing in four games for Lancaster, the Astros promoted Gurriel to the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Class AA Texas League.[15] He batted 2-for-17 (.118) in five games for Corpus Christi, and was promoted to the Fresno Grizzlies of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.[16] He was recalled from Fresno to the major league roster on August 21. In his first 19 games with the Astros, he batted .344 with three home runs and eight runs batted in, playing mostly first and third base defensively.[17]

World Series champion (2017)Edit

Over 139 games in 2017, Gurriel batted .299/.332/.486 for a 121 adjusted 121 OPS (OPS+). Other cumulative totals included 564 plate appearances, 43 doubles, 18 home runs, 75 RBI, 22 bases on balls, and 62 strikeouts.[18] He finished seventh in the American League (AL) in doubles, second in at bats per strikeout (8.5),[19] while seeing the fewest number of pitches per plate appearance in the major leagues (3.43).[20] Defensively, Gurriel ranked second among AL first basemen in assists with 90.[21] Still qualified as a rookie, he placed fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.[22]

In Game 3 of the 2017 World Series, Gurriel hit a home run off Japanese Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish, and upon returning to the dugout, made a racist gesture mocking the pitcher. Gurriel was caught on camera stretching the sides of his eyes and mouthing the Spanish word chinito, which translates to "little Chinese Boy".[23][24] Gurriel apologized, and said that anyone from Asia is called a chino in Cuba, although he acknowledged that he knew the term was offensive from having played in Japan.[23][25] Gurriel was suspended for the first five games of the 2018 season without pay, but not for the World Series.[26] He was required to undergo sensitivity training in the offseason. The Astros said that they would donate Gurriel's salary lost during the suspension to a charity that supports diversity efforts.[27]

In Game 5, Gurriel hit a three-run home run off Dodgers star pitcher Clayton Kershaw in the fourth inning to tie the game 4–4; the Astros would go on to win 13–12. In Game 7, Gurriel faced Darvish again, and tipped his helmet before his at bat as a respectful gesture. The Astros won the game 5–1, giving them their first world championship in franchise history.[28] Gurriel became the fifth player to have won both an Olympic gold medal and a World Series championship, after Orlando Hernández, José Contreras, Pat Borders and Doug Mientkiewicz.[29]

2018–20Edit

After each hitting two home runs on September 21, 2018, Gurriel and brother Lourdes, Jr., became the first pair of brothers to hit multi-home run games in the major leagues on the same day; Lourdes' was as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. Yuli Gurriel was named AL Player of the Week for the first time on September 23, 2018, having batted .462, .923 SLG, eight runs scored, three home runs, and 10 RBI.[30] For the 2018 season, he batted .291/.323/.428.

Gurriel became the first Astro with a run and RBI in seven consecutive games, and the fifth to homer in five consecutive games, on July 7, 2019, including a game-tying grand slam in doing so in an 11–10 win versus the Los Angeles Angels. He won the AL Player of the Week Award for the week ending July 8, his second weekly honor, after homering in all five of the Astros games for a total of six, among nine hits and an OPS of 1.812.[31] He went on to win the AL Player of the Month Award for July, his first time, after batting .398, .427 OBP, .837 SLG, 18 runs scored, seven doubles, 12 home runs, 31 RBIs over 24 games.[32] In a 14–3 romp over the Colorado Rockies on August 7, Gurriel homered and tied J. R. Towles with eight RBIs for the club record in one game.[33]

In Game 7 of the 2019 World Series versus the Washington Nationals, Gurriel hit a first inning solo home run off Max Scherzer to give the Astros a 1–0 lead. The Astros eventually lost the game, 6-2, as the Nationals earned their first major league championship.[1]

In 2020, Gurriel endured his most challenging season in the major leagues to date. He batted .232/.274/.384 with 27 runs, six home runs, 22 RBI, and five sacrifice flies (tied for second in the AL) in 211 at bats, playing 55 games at first base and two at DH.[18] In an expanded postseason format, he went 5-for-44 – all singles[34] – as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Astros in the ALCS.[35]

On September 29, 2020, the Astros signed Gurriel to a one-year extension with a club option for 2022.[34]

American League batting champion (2021)Edit

Following the pandemic-shortened season, Gurriel lost 15 pounds (6.8 kg). On May 7, 2021, versus the Blue Jays, he recorded four hits, including one home run, and four RBIs. Through just 31 games in the season, he had surpassed his RBI total (24) and walk total (16) in 2020 while batting .342/.420/.553 and leading the Astros with 12 multi-hit games and in RBI.[34] In the final game of the 2021 regular season, Gurriel hit a walk-off single to score Jason Castro and defeat the Oakland Athletics.[36]

In 2021, he batted .319 to narrowly edge out teammate Michael Brantley and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the American League batting title. At age 37, he was the sixth-oldest player to win a batting title, the oldest to win their first batting title since Barry Bonds in 2002, and the first Cuban player since Tony Oliva in 1971.[37] Gurriel tied for the major league lead in sacrifice flies, with 12.[38] His final slash line included .319/.383/.462, a career-best 59 walks and 68 strikeouts. He also led the Astros in on-base percentage (OBP, .383), hits (169), and walk-to-strikeout ratio (.868).[36]

Batting profileEdit

As a right-handed batter, Gurriel is unusual in the sense that he has a better batting average against right handed pitchers than left-handers, and is better at batting against breaking balls away from the bat, esp. sliders.[citation needed]

Personal lifeEdit

His brother, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. also played in Cuba before defecting, and later signed with the Toronto Blue Jays.

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ a b c "Yuli Gurriel Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Street, Jim (February 10, 2006). "Unsung heroes bound to emerge: Lesser-knowns players will share Classic spotlight with stars". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Manuel, John (March 2, 2006). "World Baseball Classic: Cuba's Yuliesky Gurriel". baseballamerica.com. Baseball America. Archived from the original on March 11, 2006. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  4. ^ "XLV Serie Nacional de Béisbol: Lideres de Bateo" (in Spanish). INDER. Retrieved October 21, 2006.
  5. ^ "Cuba scrambles to shine in baseball's Classic". Cubanet. Archived from the original on June 14, 2006. Retrieved July 4, 2006.
  6. ^ "World Baseball Classic: Statistics (Batting Leaders)". Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2006.
  7. ^ "Slugger becomes third legal Cuban baseball export". ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 14, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  8. ^ Graczyk, Wayne (July 30, 2016). "Former BayStars infielder Gurriel gets opportunity to pursue dream with Astros". The Japan Times.
  9. ^ Strauss, Ben. "Star Brothers Are Apparently the Latest to Defect From Cuba". The New York Times. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  10. ^ Adams, Steve. "Yulieski Gurriel Declared Free Agent". MLBTradeRumors.com. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  11. ^ "Report: Cuban baseball players defect in Colombia". ESPN.com news services. Retrieved July 28, 2006.
  12. ^ Rojas, Enrique. "Cuban star Gurriel has no interest in deserting". ESPNdeportes.com. Retrieved August 1, 2006.
  13. ^ Sanchez, Jesse (July 16, 2016). "Astros ink deal with Cuban star Y. Gurriel". MLB.com. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  14. ^ "Source: Astros agree to $47.5 million deal with Yulieski Gurriel". espn.go.com. July 15, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  15. ^ Rajan, Greg (August 8, 2016). "Astros' Yulieski Gurriel heading to Class AA Corpus Christi". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  16. ^ McTaggert, Brian. "Astros promoting Cuban INF Gurriel to Triple-A". MLB.com. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  17. ^ "Yuli Gurriel Cuban, Japanese & minor leagues statistics & history". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  18. ^ a b "Yuli Gurriel stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  19. ^ "2017 American League batting leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  20. ^ "2021 MLB Player Batting Postseason Stats". ESPN.
  21. ^ "2017 American League fielding leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  22. ^ "2017 awards voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Hernandez, Dylan (October 27, 2017). "Some look askew at Yuli Gurriel's dugout squint". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017.
  24. ^ Waldstein, David (October 28, 2017). "Astros' Yuli Gurriel Apologizes After a Racist Gesture Aimed at Yu Darvish". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017.
  25. ^ Lauber, Scott. "MLB mulls discipline after Yuli Gurriel's insensitive gesture". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017.
  26. ^ "Astros' Yuli Gurriel Will Be Suspended After Racist Gesture at World Series". nbcnews.com.
  27. ^ "Gurriel won't be suspended for any World Series games". espn.com. October 28, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  28. ^ McTaggart, Brian; Gurnick, Ken. "Houston Astros win 2017 World Series". MLB. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  29. ^ "Doug Mientkiewicz – Society for American Baseball Research".
  30. ^ Thosar, Deesha (September 23, 2018). "Yuli, Yelich named Players of the Week". MLB.com. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  31. ^ Houston Chronicle Sports (July 8, 2019). "Astros' Yuli Gurriel earns AL Player of the Week honors". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  32. ^ Ebro, Jorge (August 3, 2019). "Gurriel el Mejor del Mes, Álvarez el Novato de julio. Pelota cubana en MLB brilla, mientras la de la isla agoniza". El Nuevo Herald (in Spanish). Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  33. ^ Atkins, Hunter (August 7, 2019). "Yuli Gurriel explodes for 8 RBIs as Astros romp past Rockies". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  34. ^ a b c MTaggert, Brian (May 7, 2021). "Yuli's tear continues with 4 hits, 4 RBIs". MLB.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  35. ^ "2020 ALCS: Tampa Bay Rays over Houston Astros (4–3)". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  36. ^ a b Lerner, Danielle (October 6, 2021). "After worst year of his career, batting champ Yuli Gurriel primed for World Series run at age 37". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  37. ^ Young, Matt (October 3, 2021). "Yuli Gurriel becomes second Astros player to win a batting title". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  38. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2021 » Batters » Standard Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball". www.fangraphs.com.

External linksEdit

Awards
Preceded by
 American League Player of the Month
July 2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
 Cuban National Series MVP
2004–05 		Succeeded by
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