"Slant eyed" insult caught on camera in the World Series

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Astros ballplayer Yuli Gurriel went from "hero to zero," with this racist gesture.

WHAT? REALLY? Did this really happen in baseball's World Series? The same night a ballplayer was making fun of an Asian player, he was getting an Asian/Amerian baby named after him.

The Houston Astro's first baseman Yuli Gurriel mocked Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish by pulling his eyes back to make those infamous slant eyes.

Just about every Asian or Asian/American has suffered the indignity of stupid bigots who want to make fun of people from Asia by pulling back their eyes. The hateful gesture, as harmless as might seem to non-Asians, is destructive to kids' self-esteem and still gets the blood boiling, even as adults.

Gurriel had just hit a homerun last night (Oct. 27) off of starting pitcher Darvish putting his team ahead 1-0. Back in the dugout, cameras caught Gurriel making that racist gesture while saying "Chinito," Spanish slang for "Little Chinese," then laughing.

Darvish, who is half-Japanese, said the gesture was "disrespectful" and "offensive to everybody," while calling for Gurriel to be reprimanded.

“I’m sure the Astros have Asian fans, too," he told journalists in Japanese.

Well. Gurriel had at least one Asian/American fan. And after last night, he has at least two.

Ironically, the same night Gurriel was acting like an ass, a Japanese/American fan Rickie Sakamoto from Houston was naming his newborn son Yuli, after the ballplayer.

As of late last night, there has not been any apology from Gurriel or Astro's management.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is expected to meet with Gurriel Saturday (Oct. 28) to discuss the incident and will "consider discipline," per the New York Times.

MLB's Sam Dunn wrote: "Yuli Gurriel may have himself two home runs in the World Series, but he just went from hero to zero.

​"To say that this is not okay is a titanic understatement."

According to MLM, there's precedent for suspension for making derogatory comments of gestures, though none applied to race or occurred during the postseason, let alone the World Series. Yunel Escobar was suspended three games in 2012 for featuring a homophobic slur on his eye black, while Matt Joyce and Kevin Pillar each received two-game bans in the last year for making anti-gay remarks during games.

In this era of heightened sensitivity because of the racially insensitive - or to be kind, racially ignorant -  leadership in Washington and the reemergence of the presence and teachings of white supremacists, racist gestures, words or actions - intentional or unintentional - need to be pointed out and condemned. As people of color, we can no longer remain silent and just internalize the emotions stirred up by those situations.

It may have not been Darvish's night. In his first World Series appearance, he lasted only 49 pitches before being pulled. The Dodgers went on to lose the game 5-3, giving the Astros a 2-1 advantage in the best of seven World Series.

Despite his poor performance, Darvish doesn't deserve that. Nobody does.

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