Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is a Cuban professional baseball left fielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for Sancti Spíritus and the Industriales of the Cuban National Series before defecting from Cuba.
As a 16-year-old, Gurriel made his professional baseball debut with Sancti Spritus in the 2010 Cuban National Series. Gurriel was used as a pinch hitter. Over the course of 16 games, he hit.200 with 15 hits.
The following year, Gurriel made 55 appearances and batted.317, with 3 home runs, and 16 runs batted in in 227 (RBI) in his first season back.
Gurriel hit.253 with four home runs and 32 RBI in 67 games for Sancti Sprites in his final season. While with the Industriales in 2013, Gurriel hit.218 with one home run and seventeen RBI in 45 games.
Guerriel won gold in 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games, in which he represented Cuba. In 2014, he played in 63 games and hit.308 with eight home runs and 42 RBI, a significant improvement over his 2013 performance.
In 2015, Gurriel had a.344 average, 10 home runs, and 53 RBIs with the Industriales.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Parents: Meet Lourdes Gourriel and Olga Castillo
Professional baseball left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was born to his parents Lourdes Gourriel (father) and Olga Castillo (mother). His father, Lourdes Gourriel is a former Cuban baseball player and Olympic gold medalist.
A member of the Cuban National Team, Gourriel took part in the 2017 season. During the 1976-77 season of the Cuban National Series, he was named Rookie of the Year by his peers.
He tied Armando Capiró and Jorge Beltrán for the Serie Nacional lead with 12 doubles in 1978–79. In 1979, he made his international baseball debut for Cuba, when he hit.294 in the Intercontinental Cup tournament.
It was Gourriel that had the most home runs in the 1979–1980 Serie Nacional. For Cuba, he hit.452 and had a game-winning hit in a 5-4 triumph against Team USA at the 1980 Amateur World Series.