Gurriel gets booed, tips helmet at Darvish
LOS ANGELES — Yuli Gurriel batted to a soundtrack of loud and steady boos in Game 7 of the World Series.
Dodgers fans voiced their displeasure when the first baseman was announced sixth in the Astros’ lineup before the deciding game Wednesday night. The boos grew even louder when Gurriel came to the plate for the first time.
Gurriel tipped his helmet in Yu Darvish’s direction before stepping into the batter’s box to face the Japan-born pitcher. Gurriel flied out to right in a 13-pitch at-bat to end the first inning, with Houston leading 2-0.
A night earlier, Rich Hill purposely stepped off the rubber while the fans were booing Gurriel, allowing the negative crescendo to last longer.
Hill described it as his “silent gesture” to condemn Gurriel’s racist gesture toward Darvish after homering off the hurler on Friday.
“This is a very close group, and for him to acknowledge that moment on behalf of Yu, I’m sure that Yu appreciated that,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said before the Astros’ 5-1 victory to claim their first World Series title. “The fans obviously got to voice their displeasure.”
Keith Hernandez ignited a homophobic controversy with six words during FOX’s pregame show Wednesday night.
The Mets legend and SNY broadcaster, in response to David Ortiz imitating Dodgers slugger
Yasiel Puig with a licking gesture toward Hernandez, made a joke about his home city of San Francisco, which is known for its prominent LGBTQ community and its history advocating for gay rights.
“I’m not from San Francisco, bro!” a smiling Hernandez appears to say, sending the World Series broadcast crew into a fit of laughter.
While it’s possible Hernandez said, “I am from San Francisco, bro,” since he was born and raised in the Bay Area before getting drafted by the Cardinals in 1971, either version of the sarcastic comment caused a stir among viewers on social media.
“I made a poor attempt at humor and never intended for it to be taken the wrong way,” Hernandez said through a spokesman. “I am from San Francisco and as baseball fans know, the Dodgers/Giants rivalry runs deep. I did not grow up a Dodger fan and when it came down to Giants versus Dodgers, I rooted for the Giants. I apologize if any offense was taken.” Carlos Correa added another milestone during the Astros’ celebration when he proposed to his girlfriend, 2016 Miss Texas Daniella Rodriguez, during a TV interview.