HAVANA, Cuba. – For some time now, the figure of Yulieski Gurriel has been circulating in conversations about the best Cuban baseball player of all time, although his prolific career has not ended. Not a few of the stellar veteran are seated at the same table where the two main legends of the national pastime eat: Martin Dihigo and Omar Linaresin a comparison that is difficult to reach consensus.
The fact that the three aces have played in different eras and leagues destroys the metrics that statistics can provide. Therefore, the most plausible assessment would be between players who shone in the same period of time.
In this type of confrontations, the most natural comparison of Yulieski Gurriel would be with Kendrys Morales, since both became known during the fifth edition of the Pan American U-18 Baseball Championship, held in the city of Camagüey, in 2001, where they generated great expectations regarding what they could achieve in the National Series.
“That talented generation brought together Ifreidi Coss, Juan Carlos Linares, Zaidel Beltrán, Dennis Suárez, Yamel Guevara, Ronnier Mustelier, Alexei Bell, Roberto Álvarez and other talented prospects, but only they managed to succeed in Cuba and later in the Major Leagues. That summarizes why they should be compared to each other,” he told CubaNet Héctor Valle Martínez, capital coach of children’s categories.
A rivalry that is born
“The arrival of Kendrys and Yulieski to the senior category (Serie XLI) fostered a rivalry that had not been seen for years,” explained Alfredo Marchán Valdés, a former referee who worked in provincial tournaments in Havana and belonged to support groups for the Series. National.
“Kendrys was a phenomenon, due to his power as a switch-hitter and pitching skills. After his rookie year, the fans saw in him a player capable of marking an era. Yulieski also had enormous talent, but from day one he had to prove more than anyone else. Being a son of Lourdes Gurriel It played against him,” Marchán expands.
The man from Sancti Spiritus would achieve disproportionate popularity, which went beyond his work on the playing fields. He added followers as well as detractors. In one sector there was a perception that the sports authorities favored him, despite the fact that Kendrys generated better numbers during the short period that they coincided in the National Series.
“The narrators treated him differently, he was the pretty boy of the Cuban ball. Even the Government pampered him, everyone knows that he even rubbed shoulders with members of Fidel Castro’s family. He enjoyed that status that exists in this country, where some things outweigh the results,” said Elio Chang Turiño, a baseball fan.
What do the Yuli statistics say?
The versatility of the “Piña” combines touch and occasional power at bat, excellent defense, speed and a great arm to finish off agile runners. An example of his versatility is that he was the first to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in the same national season, while at the same time he inaugurated the 200 home run club using a wooden bat.
Over 15 domestic seasons, he compiled a 337 batting average, the product of 1,705 hits distributed in 1,103 singles, 327 doubles, 63 three-corner connections and 282 home runs. He was also projected to become the first to surpass the 2,500 hit barrier in the National Series.
In June 2016, at age 32, he signed with the Houston Astros to play in the best baseball in the world. He spent seven seasons with the Sidereals, in which he won two World Series rings. His best season occurred at age 37, in 2021, when he became the first Cuban to win a Major League batting title in the last five decades.
That year he also won the Gold Glove as a first base defender, being the oldest player in that position to win the award.
After the departure of the space city team, in 2023 he obtained an annual Minor League contract with the Marlins franchise, who quickly raised him to the big roster, although without offering him enough chances to establish himself.
After several months unemployed last season, the Atlanta Braves offered him a new contract in the minors. His solid work with the Gwinnett team, the Triple A branch, caught the attention of the Kansas City Royals who, involved in the fight to enter the postseason, had lost their first baseman, Vinnie Pasquantino, to injury.
Thus, at the age of 40, he returned to the Big Top. As big leaguer He accumulates 927 challenges, compiling a 280 average, 98 home runs, 225 doubles, eight triples, 468 runs batted in and 439 runs scored. He can boast of being the only player to win the Olympic Games (2004), the Caribbean Series (2015) and the Major League World Series (2017 and 2022).
A tour with the “sensational” Kendrys Morales
Kendrys Morales began his career with a bang, playing for Industriales when he was just 17 years old. In his rookie year he set six records for that category: home runs (21), doubles (24), singles (114), RBIs (82), runs scored (60) and extra-base hits (46). His power at bat was merciless, standing on either side of the plate.
In the second season he did not hit as many home runs, affected by an injury that prevented him from playing several games. However, his offensive average remained at an astronomical 391. In 2003 he would be banned from playing at home, after being accused of contacting an agent for professional baseball players, while representing Cuba in the pre-Olympic tournament that was taking place in Panama.
In his brief time in the National Series, he accumulated a 330 average, hit 37 home runs, reached 416 OBP, 537 SLG, 953 OPS and was walked 116. To return to the land, he had to leave the country, and Kendrys tried by sea four times until arriving by boat in the United States in 2004.
Two years later he debuted again, this time in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Los Angeles Angels. But it was not until 2009 that he completed his first Major League season, in which he compiled 306 of averagedistributed 43 home runs, 34 home runs and drove in 108 teammates, finishing fifth in the American League MVP selection.
The following year would be disastrous for his career. On May 29, 2010, he hit a Grand Slam – his first as a wholesaler – that left his rival prone. At the end of the base run, to celebrate, he slid into home and suffered a fracture in his left leg. Until that moment, in 51 games, he was hitting 290, with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs.
The unfortunate incident cost him two harvests. He would not be the same again until, in 2015, after spending two years between the Seattle Mariners and the Minnesota Twins, he signed a new two-year contract with the Kansas City Royals. Year of rebirth, in which he became World Series champion and won the Silver Bat for the best designated hitter.
From the Royals he continued towards the Toronto Blue Jays, to end his career in 2019, taking turns from the Oakland Athletics to the New York Yankees. In total, in 13 contests he hit 265 averageat a rate of 1,289 connections that were worth at least one base, of which 213 went beyond the limits and 257 resulted in doubles, in addition to driving in 740 runs.
Additionally, he pitched two innings, allowing one hit and one earned run, with three walks, in a pair of forced reliefs. He is the only Antillean with two home runs in the same inning, one in each hand, being the third in the history of all of the Major Leagues to achieve the feat in that way.
He also belongs to the select group with the second-longest streak of consecutive games hitting at least one home run, with seven consecutive dates hitting the ball over the fences.
In his record, along with the World Series ring, he has a Cuban championship and a World Cup (amateur). As a curious fact, both in his first Major League game and in the last one he participated, representing the Bronx Bombers, he hit a home run in each 5-3 game.
