Cuban’s debut includes single in first at-bat, walk

BALTIMORE — Yulieski Gurriel couldn’t decide, looking at two Astros caps in his locker in the corner of the visiting clubhouse at Camden Yards.

The 32-year-old “rookie” from Cuba was told he didn’t have to wear one as reporters closed in for his first interview since he joined the Astros after a three-week tour in the minors.

Gurriel, whom the Astros signed for five years and $47.5 million in July,

chose one of the caps anyway. A small gesture to a dream he didn’t think was possible until a few years ago.

“Excited is probably a better word,” Gurriel said through the team’s translator when asked if he was nervous. “This is a dream of mine for years. Not only for me to make it but a Cuban player to make it to the big leagues is a big deal.”

After 15 seasons of playing in his native Cuba, a stint in Japan, three World Baseball Classics and two Olympics (including a gold-medal effort in 2004), Gurriel was in the big leagues. He was the Astros’ designated hitter Sunday and singled in his first at-bat.

Calm bearing

“He was very calm for his major league debut,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “I don’t care how old you are or how many games you’re played professionally in any country. Your first big league at-bat is a challenge to get through emotionally.”

Gurriel walked in his second plate appearance and grounded out in his third before exiting with right hamstring tightness. He is day-to-day but could have continued. Hinch said it wasn’t worth risking anything with the field conditions and the fact it was Gurriel’s first day with the team.

Gurriel said if he’s in the lineup, he’ll be ready to go.

In his first at-bat Sunday, he didn’t bite on back-to-back sliders from Orioles starter Yovani Gallardo. Gurriel hit a 3-1 fastball back up the middle.

“I was sure I was going to get my first hit that fast, but I felt really excited,” he said. “I’m going to put (the baseball) away and put it in a place very special.”

The Astros’ original plan was to have Gurriel debut at home last Tuesday, but it was decided he wasn’t “baseball ready,” and he instead went to Class AAA Fresno for four games.

Gurriel got 56 at-bats through four levels of the minors, hitting .250 with six extra-base hits and two walks. The numbers weren’t as much a concern, Hinch said, as getting him the workload of a normal spring training.

“He’s more of a veteran than a rookie when it comes to knowing his body and when he’s ready to play,” Hinch said. “This guy hasn’t played a ton in the last six to 12 months, so once he got to the 50 at-bat plateau, he started feeling a little bit better, his contact was getting a little bit better.”

Hinch said it was also important to get Gurriel comfortable playing in America.

“He’s played at every level in the world and been on the center stage and been one of the best international players for a long time,” Hinch said. “This challenge will be different for him. He’ll feel like a rookie again. … I told him he doesn’t have to be Superman and try to carry this team. He’s a piece of what we’re trying to do.”

No set position

A longtime third baseman, Gurriel will see time there as early as the next series at Pittsburgh, and he’ll DH as well. He’ll also work at first base and continue his introduction to left field, which he played once, Thursday in Fresno.

It shouldn’t be assumed rookie Alex Bregman will move off third base, where he has excelled since coming up July 25. That’s OK with Gurriel, who is willing to play wherever and whenever he can.

He had to wait a few extra hours for his debut as rain swept through Baltimore.

And the cross-country flights of the last few weeks were tiring and nothing like he experienced in Cuba, he said.

But it has all been worth it.

“A long time that I’ve waited for this moment,” he said.