MLB may discipline Gurriel over gesture
Cuban first baseman appeared to ridicule Darvish after homer
Yuli Gurriel powered a home run into the Crawford Boxes to lift the Astros to a 1-0 lead in the second inning of Game 3 of the World Series, but it was his reaction with those same two hands in the dugout immediately afterward that drew as much or more attention.
A television camera caught Gurriel appearing to ridicule Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish’s Asian heritage during the Astros’ 5-3 victory. A giddy Gurriel, taking a seat on the bench immediately following the homer, used his fingers to act as if he was slanting his eyes, and he also appeared to say, “Chinito,” which translates to “little Chinese boy.”
“I didn’t think anybody would think (bad) about what I meant with all those kinds of things like that,” Gurriel said afterward through a translator. “I offer my apologies to baseball and anyone offended.”
Major League Baseball plans to talk to Gurriel about the gesture and will consider discipline, the New York Times reported.
“He made a mistake,” Darvish said. “He’ll learn from it. We’re all human beings.
“It was disrespectful. I’m sure the Astros have Asian fans, too.”
Darvish is from Osaka, Japan, and has played the past six seasons in the majors leagues, with most of his time spent with the Texas Rangers. The Dodgers acquired the tall righthander in a trade in late July for the stretch run and into the postseason.
Gurriel, a native of Cuba who’s spent the past two seasons with the Astros, said he was informed during the game that he would have to answer for the gesture afterward.
“I know he’s remorseful,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.
Added Gurriel through the translator, “I didn’t try to offend nobody. I was commenting to my family that I hadn’t had any good luck against Japanese pitchers here in the United States. …. (And) In Cuba we call everyone who’s from Asia ‘chino.’ ”
Gurriel’s gesture was part of an overall awful night for Darvish, who gave up four runs before he was pulled following 12⁄3 innings. Darvish had always lasted at least two innings over his big league career, but he failed to do so with the spotlight the brightest on Friday night at Minute Maid Park.
Gurriel played part of the 2014 season in Japan, competing in 62 games for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The Astros signed Gurriel in July of last year to a five-year, $47.5 million contract after he had defected from Cuba the previous February.
“I didn’t want to offend anybody in Japan,” Gurriel offered. “I have a lot of respect for Japan. I played in Japan.”
Gurriel’s homer in the second inning was his first in the postseason and ignited a four-run burst to give the Astros an early cushion. Gurriel also doubled in the seventh inning but wound up stranded on third base.
“Getting us kick-started with that homer was huge,” Hinch said.