Cuban Yuli Gurriel Suspended 5 Games In 2018 For Racist Gesture On World Series

C’mon Yuli! You should have known better! Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel barely managed to dodge a career-ending fastball and instead was only suspended for the first five games of the next baseball season after making an unsavory racist gesture directed at Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish in Game 3 of the World Series.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today was the first to report Gurriel’s suspension, the Astros tweeted a statement about the first baseman’s punishment. “We support Major League Baseball’s decision of a five-game suspension for the 2018 season. The Astros will donate Yuli’s salary for these five games in equal parts for the Astros Foundation and to a charity directly supporting diversity efforts.” read the 2017 ALCS champions statement.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred showed great mercy to Gurriel by not suspending him for the rest of his first World Series, apparently, Commissioner Manfred considered that having Gurriel sit out these championship games was punishing the other players on the Astros roster as well by having one taking out one of their starters on only their second chance ever at the World Series title. Manfred, however, did condemn the racist action and said on MLB.com that there was “no place in our game.” The Astros also released Gurriel’s statement via their team’s Twitter page. “During last night’s game, I made an offensive gesture that was indefensible. I sincerely apologize to everyone that I offended with my actions. I deeply regret it. I would particularly like to apologize to Yu Darvish, a pitcher that I admire and respect. I would also like to apologize to the Dodgers organization, the Astros, Major League Baseball and to all fans across the game.”

Regardless, of how this pans out, in the end, what we should be focusing on is Gurriel’s poor sportsmanship. The infield player homered off Yu Darvish in the second inning of Houston’s 5-3 win on Friday. Once in the dugout, while he celebrated the home run with his teammates, television cameras showed Gurriel pulling down on the corners of his eyes, in what was clear mocking of Darvish’s Asian descent, very petty on his part to say the least. Realizing the gravity of his actions, he took to ESPN to issue an apology. “I did not mean it to be offensive at any point, quite the opposite.

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I have always had a lot of respect [for Japanese people]. … I’ve never had anything against Darvish. For me, he’s always been one of the best pitchers. I never had any luck against him. If I offended him, I apologize. It was not my intention.”

Fortunately for Gurriel, Darvish is a very reasonable and understanding individual, he later released a statement about how what he felt during the situation and called for people to “move forward instead of focusing on anger,” a class act by the pitcher!

Article inspired by Bleacher Report // Yuli Gurriel Suspended 5 2018 Games for Racist Gesture; Avoids World Series Ban