A VALUABLE ASSET
Gurriel’s impressive production tends to get lost among club’s All-Star lineup
JUPITER, Fla. — If you were to ask a fan to name the most valuable Astros player, it might take a while before they got to Yuli Gurriel.
That’s what happens when you’re in a lineup with multiple time All-Stars like Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, George Springer and Michael Brantley.
Still, it’s hard to deny the Astros first baseman’s numbers.
Hitting behind Springer, Altuve, Brantley and Bregman, Gurriel checked in near the top in most statistical categories last season. He led the team in doubles (40), was second in RBIs (104), second in total bases (305) and third in home runs (31).
Mention the words “underrated” or “overlooked” to Gurriel, and the always cool Cuban is stone-faced, besides a subtle glance at his teammates surrounding him in the crowded visitors’ clubhouse at the St.
Louis Cardinals’ Roger Dean
Stadium.
“This is a really good team,” Gurriel said Saturday through an intepreter. “There’s a lot of talent and a lot of stars here, too. That’s why.”
Blending into the Astros’ star-studded lineup actually suits Gurriel’s personality. Although his hair style — short on the sides and long up top, which has earned him the pineapple moniker “La Piña ”— might make you think he’s as eccentric as his locks, he’s actually rather quiet in the clubhouse, at least when the media’s around.
While Carlos Correa deftly handles interviews and Springer loudly jokes with teammates, Gurriel goes about his business of stretching in the corner.
Being comfortable in the shadows might explain Gurriel’s thoughts on his five-year, $47.5 million contract expiring after this season.
“I know I’m a free agent after this year, but I want to stay here,” said Gurriel, who got his third hit of the spring in the Astros’ 5-1 loss to the Cardinals on Saturday.
It’s unclear how far the Astros will go to retain the man who turns 36 in June, but manager Dusty Baker is happy to have Gurriel’s bat in his 2020 lineup.
“He’s got a great swing,” Baker said. “He seems to keep the bat on the ball for a long period of time. He just throws it out of the park. He really knows how to hit, using the whole field.”
That was never more evident than in July when the Astros’ lead in the American League West was trimmed to a precarious four games, and Gurriel carried the offense, hitting .408 with 12 homers in 24 games in July. The Astros went on to win the division by 10 games.
“Sometimes you’ve got to jump on somebody’s back,” Baker said.
Baker raves about Gurriel’s clutch hitting, hypothesizing that it comes from a decade of Gurriel playing professionally in Cuba and his international experience on his country’s national team, which included two trips to the Olympics.
“I’ve been to Cuba. I’ve been to those games and I’ve seen the pressure over there,” Baker said. “... There’s a whole lot more pressure in Latin America on the players than there is here. When I played there, boy, those games are way more serious than here.”
It’s hard to imagine a sporting event being more serious than the 44 postseason games Gurriel has played in his Astros career. He has three World Series home runs, including one that put the Astros up early in Game 7 against the Washington Nationals last year.
Gurriel values his two trips to the World Series in Houston, but he doesn’t disagree with Baker’s intensity assessment.
“Believe it or not, it’s a lot of pressure,” Gurriel said. “It helps a lot to play in international games, especially when you’re representing your country. That experience is what’s helped me the most to come through in clutch situations.”
Despite spending most of that international experience as a third baseman, Gurriel has become an above average first baseman. Although the Oakland A’s Matt Olson seems to have the American League Gold Glove at the position locked down for the foreseeable future, Gurriel led the league in field percentage at first base, making just three errors in 804 chances last season.
“I like what I’ve seen from him over there,” Baker said. “He’s an athlete. Can hit anywhere you put him in the order and play good defense probably anywhere you put him in the infield. Rate him however you want to rate him, but the guy’s just a really good allaround ballplayer.”