HOUSTON — We live in an age when political correctness is under fire, an age when pretty much anything can be broomed away with a press release or an explanation that what you saw or heard was taken out of context.
In our latest lesson in how to broom things away with a quick quote or two and a wave of the hand, we have the colossally stupid and hugely inappropriate actions of Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel, who made a racially tinged gesture to mock Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish after hitting a home run off the right-hander in Game 3 of the World Series last night at Minute Maid Park.
When a player hits a World Series home run off a pitcher who happens to have been born in Japan, and then when said player is sitting in the dugout and uses his fingers to make a gesture that in earlier times was called “slanty-eyed,” it doesn’t take a blue-ribbon committee to know what’s going on.
But it’s not likely Major League Baseball will convene a blue-ribbon panel. It’s not likely there will be a World Series suspension. What’ll happen is that Gurriel will be fined, and that’s it.
He did, after all, apologize after the game. Speaking through a translator to a crowd of reporters in the Houston clubhouse, Gurriel, a 33-year-old Cuban rookie who once played a season in Japan, said, “I don’t want to hurt nobody . . . I have a lot of respect. I played in Japan.”
There was also the issue of a comment he was said to have said while sitting in the dugout. He apparently used the term “chinito,” which roughly means “little Chinese guy,” which in Cuba isn’t really considered offensive. In his interview with reporters Gurriel said, “We call everyone who is from Asia chinito,” and added, “I played in Japan and I know they don’t like that and I offer my apologies for that.”
But it’s not the comment that’s at issue. It’s the gesture. Gurriel did apologize, explaining that the gesture was more an expression of his having hit a home run off a pitcher against whom he had had little success.
“Japan opened doors to my being in baseball,” he said. “I didn’t mean to do anything to offend him.”
He said he plans to speak to Darvish.
“Yes, I will talk to him because I have nothing against him,” he said.
Speaking through a translator of his own, Darvish, of Japanese and Iranian decent, called the gesture “disrespectful.”
The evening had begun so well, with the Astros bringing out the town’s biggest football star to throw out the first pitch. And right away you’re thinking this is blasphemy, right?
Not at all. That the Astros invited Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt to do the first pitch illustrates that the ’Stros do not have an inferiority complex, but more than that it was the right thing to do. Fussy Patriots fans may have their own opinions about Watt, but let the record show that nobody in the Houston sports community stood taller in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Make no mistake: The Astros did their part. But according to various media accounts Watt raised $37 million for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. We all watched the sobering video images of the terrible flooding that crippled the area, forcing many people out of their homes. Watt did something about that, and it was more than showing up for meet-and-greets and doing live shots on Fox 26 Houston.
Raising $37 million ain’t easy. It probably took phone calls, coddling and perhaps even some strong-arming. I like to think Watt even took a well-heeled but short-pocketed local business leader and lifted him up by the scruff of his neck ’til he said uncle. It’s the romantic in me.
Whatever he did, however he did it, it resonated with Houstonians to the degree that he was invited to throw out the first pitch.
In terms of logistics, it didn’t hurt any that Watt is out for the season with a broken leg.
Then again, it probably didn’t make a difference. I suspect Houstonians would have wanted Watt on the hill at Minute Maid Park last night, injury or no injury, and that Watt would have been there, injury or no injury.
Sporting an Astros cap and No. 99 ’Stros shirt, Watt was thunderously received as he ambled out to the mound with the aid of crutches. He fired a sidearm serve to Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel; even though he’s right-handed with his feet planted firmly on the ground it looked like a lefty’s quick pickoff throw to first. Good stuff.
So, sure, the Astros did the right thing. The Astros easily could have had one of their own resident legends throw out the first pitch last night. They could then have introduced Watt between innings.
Though they’ve only been in business since 1962, when they debuted as the Colt 45s, the Astros can proudly proclaim Hall of Famers Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, both of whom played their entire big-league careers with the franchise.
They have Hall of Famer and Texas icon Nolan Ryan, who pitched nine seasons for the ’Stros and is now a executive adviser whose opinions matter.
They have former big-league pitcher Larry Dierker, a sort of Johnny Pesky of the Astros: He played for them, managed them, broadcast their games and now works for the club as a consultant. And just as the Red Sox retired Johnny’s No. 6, the Astros have retired Dierker’s No. 49.
And then there’s outfielder Jose Cruz, who played 13 of his 19 big-league seasons with the ’Stros. And former Cy Young Award winner Mike Scott. And let’s not forget outfielder Jimmy Wynn, owner of one of the greatest nicknames in sports history: “The Toy Cannon”.
All would have been proper choices to throw out the first pitch last night. Instead, the Astros made an inspired choice. It was all so feel-good.
And then the game started, and Gurriel went yard, and then he made that gesture. He’s sorry if he offended anyone.
By the way, the final score was Astros 5, Dodgers 3. We move on to Game 4.
