What Nationality Is Gurriel?
The Houston Astros’ first baseman, Yulieski Gourriel Castillo is a Cuban national. Castillo was born on June 9th, 1984, in Sancti Spíritus, a municipality and capital city of the province of Sancti Spíritus in central Cuba.
He has previously played in the Cuban National Series with Sancti Spiritus and the Nippon Professional Baseball League for the Yokohama DeNA Bay Stars (NPB).
Gurriel was part of the Cuban national team and earned an Olympic gold medal in 2004.
Gurriel played second base for the Cuban national baseball team in the 2004 Summer Olympics and World Cup of Baseball.
In the 2005 World Cup, he had the most home runs of any hitter with eight. He had a tournament-best batting average of 273 and an on-base percentage of.342 and slugging percentage of.515.
His final outing came against South Korea in the 2008 Olympic finals in Beijing, when he got a double play. The 2009 Cuban World Baseball Classic squad was defeated by Japan in the finals, with Yuli Gurriel going 333 for 333 at the plate.
In the Toronto Blue Jays, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., his younger brother, plays for the team. Because he bats with his right hand, Gurriel has a better batting average against right-handed pitchers than against left-handed ones.
Moreover, his batting hand makes him more effective against pitches that break away from the bat, such as sliders.