Major League Baseball has suspended Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel for five games, but he won’t miss any time during the current World Series. Gurriel’s ban comes after his racially insensitive gesture and comment during Friday’s Game 3 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ugly move by Astros’ Yuli Gurriel
After hitting a home run in the second inning off of Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish, Gurriel is seen in the dugout using his fingers to apparently slant his eyes.
He also seemed to make a remark that translates into an insensitive comment. Darvish, who the Dodgers acquired from the Texas Rangers before the trade deadline this season, is from Japan.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred decided to suspend Gurriel for next year’s regular season start as opposed to right now in the World Series for multiple reasons. This was confirmed in a statement released by the commissioner's office. First, Manfred wanted the suspension to include a loss of salary and Gurriel will lose five games of pay next season. Second, the commissioner didn’t think it was fair to punish the rest of the Astros team at such a critical time by taking Gurriel out of the series.
Gurriel, who is Cuban, has apologized for his behavior and won’t appeal the suspension. The Astros have also said they were disappointed and surprised by Gurriel’s actions.
Will the Dodgers respond on the field to Gurriel?
Time will tell how the Dodgers, who are down two games to one in the series, choose to respond to Gurriel on the field, and one has to wonder if they are thinking about some sort of retaliation. If the situation presents itself correctly, it’s possible a Dodgers pitcher could decide to throw at Gurriel, but it shouldn’t be expected to happen, at least not at this moment. World Series outs are too precious to give up and an opportunity to get one can’t be tossed away by the Dodgers now.
Another question is if the Astros will consider their own discipline for Gurriel right now. Could Houston bench him for Game 4? Again, the stakes are very high in the World Series, so don’t count on it. The team might have issued a statement about its disappointment, but it’s not angry enough to pull him from the championship.
It'll be interesting to see how the home crowd in Houston responds when Gurriel has his first at-bat of Game 4. It's obvious he won't be received warmly at Dodger Stadium should the series make it back there. If Houston wins games 4 and 5 and wraps up the title, Gurriel will be able to avoid the disgust of Dodgers fans in Los Angeles. However, if the Dodgers are able to win either or both games 4 and 5, the series returns to L.A.
What do you think? Should Gurriel be suspended right now or are you OK with the decision to let the suspension wait until the start of the 2018 season? Is the suspension a fair one or should he have been banned for more or less time?