Posted on 10/27/2017 4:38:44 PM PDT by GuavaCheesePuff
LOS ANGELES — On his first day in the major leagues, in August 2016, Yuli Gurriel was understandably nervous. He was 32 and had defected six months earlier from Cuba to sign with the Houston Astros. Now, after 15 games in the minor leagues, he had been summoned to play at baseball’s highest level.
At his locker before his debut, Gurriel heard a comforting language, but from an unexpected source. Alex Bregman, an Albuquerque native who played at Louisiana State, was speaking in Spanish. And he was talking to Gurriel.
“It surprised me,” Gurriel said. “He said, ‘I played with you in Cuba as a college kid.’ It really stood out to me.”
Baseball clubhouses in the major leagues are a quilt of races and nationalities, the two largest groups being white Americans and Latinos. The Astros, who are playing in their first World Series since 2005, are a fitting illustration, especially in the starting infield, where Bregman plays.
There’s the Puerto Rican shortstop Carlos Correa, who was the 2015 American League rookie of the year. There’s the Venezuelan second baseman Jose Altuve, a leading candidate for a Most Valuable Player Award this year. There’s Gurriel at first base.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Effing leftist at LAT...Always have to go for the skin color and politics...
Or is it NYT...Gezzz
Yes, NY Times sportswriter, one never finds white flyover-country people who speak Spanish. And isn’t it amazing to find Spanish speaking baseball players in Houston? /src
No knees tonight at WS. Play ball!
It’s an off day.
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