Darvish sees no point in meeting with Gurriel
LOS ANGELES— Yu Darvish didn’t think it was necessary to meet with Yuli Gurriel after the Houston first baseman’s racist gesture toward the Dodgers pitcher.
Gurriel contacted the Dodgers and told them he wanted to meet with the pitcher in person and apologize.
Major League Baseball suspended Gurriel for the first five games next season for pulling on the corners of his eyes after homering off Darvish during Houston’s 5-3 win Friday. The Cuba-born player also used a derogatory Spanish term in reference to Darvish, who was born in Japan.
“I told him, ‘Hey, you don’t have to do that, because you made a comment, and like I’m not that mad,’ ” Darvish said Tuesday through a translator. “So I really didn’t care much about that.”
Darvish said a Dodgers employee informed him about Gurriel’s gesture, which was caught on television.
“I didn’t think it was going to be this big of a deal,” Darvish said. “But to me I wasn’t that frustrated at that point when I saw it the first time.”
Immediately after the game, Darvish said he was angry.
“Acting like that, you just disrespect all the people around the world,” he said.
Darvish later tweeted “let’s stay positive and move forward instead of focusing on anger.”
Fans booed Gurriel heavily during pre-game introductions on Tuesday, and got louder during his first at-bat in the second inning. Dodgers starter Rich Hill even stepped off the rubber before his first pitch to Gurriel, prolonging the booing.
Gurriel will lose $322,581of his $12million (U.S.) salary next year, which the Astros will donate to charitable causes. He also will be required to undergo sensitivity training during the off-season.
Darvish would start Wednesday if the Dodgers are able to force a seventh and deciding game at home.